Naruto : A Zero Turned Hero
by BlackSpike91
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto. Lonely. Weak. Shunned. But all that will soon change. Watch as Naruto makes more friends, learns Shinobi arts, and gradually earns the acknowledgement he has always sought from the people around him. Enjoy! Warning: Contains violence in fights, and Naruto has a different main chakra nature as compared to the series. Rating may go up. Chapter 5 is up!
1. Chapter 1 Friends and Determination

_**Some Words from the Author:**_

_This is my very first story in Fanfiction Net. Well, I suddenly feel strongly inspired to start writing after having thought of some ideas, so I just did. I put in a lot of effort for this chapter, so hopefully you readers will like it. Okay, that will be all I want to say for now. Happy meeting you all, and enjoy your time reading! _

_**Disclaimer**__**:**__ I __**do not**__ own Naruto, or any of its characters. It belongs rightfully to Masashi Kishimoto-sama. *bows*_

_Speech system in the story:_

_"_Hello_" - Normal speech_

_'Hello' - Thoughts_

* * *

**Chapter 1: Friends and Determination**

* * *

_**Uzumaki Naruto – Nine Years Old**_

_Huff... Huff... Huff.._

The boy with a shock of spikily unkempt blond hair ran as fast as his exhausted legs could carry him. Those crazy villagers were at it again. Today's afternoon weather was just perfectly fine in _Konohagakure no Sato_ – the village hidden in the leaves, and he was on his way back to his apartment when all this happened, mercilessly crushing his hope of having a normal day.

Without even bothering to find out how many pursuers were after him, one Uzumaki Naruto scampered down the street, hoping he could find a safe place to hide until the mob decided to give up on him.

From up-close, anyone could see that Naruto had lightly-tanned skin, and was rather short and thin for boys his age. His most prominent traits, however, were the whisker-like birthmarks, three stretching on each of his cheeks. Risking a quick peek over his shoulder, the boy's expressive, cerulean blue eyes widened in fear as he realized the villagers were gradually gaining pace on him.

"Stop the demon brat! Get him!"

_'Why?'_

"Monster!"

_'What do you mean?'_

"Let's finish what Yondaime-sama couldn't!"

_'I.. what have I ever done to any of you?'_

Those were the confused thoughts screaming inside the boy's mind as he veered sharply past the corner of a fruit stall, almost losing his footing as he did so.

Demon, Monster, and even _it_ were some of the usual words used by most of the villagers to address the blond, who had absolutely no idea why he was their target of hatred. Last he checked his reflection in the mirror, he was just as normal-looking as any of them could be, so why? Maybe because of those odd birthmarks on his cheeks? Or his blue eyes perhaps? Or.. Naruto just did not know anymore.

_'Gotta... shake 'em off.. somehow..'_

Most, if not all shinobi he met on his way would just turn a blind eye to his plight. To them, it was as if Naruto were simply another part of the boring wall. Insignificant. Invisible. Though, every once in a while when he was lucky enough, a silver-haired Anbu wearing an _Inu_ _(Dog)_ mask or another with black hair donning a _Karasu_ _(Crow)_ mask would come to his rescue, if they happened to be patrolling in the area.

Today, however, clearly did not seem to be one of those lucky days.

_Huff... Huff.._

It was some distances away before he managed to lose the group for now, and he was currently hiding himself behind a dumpster to catch his breath. With one hand pressed against the wall for better support, Naruto rested his other palm over his small chest, which was heaving rapidly as he greedily refilled his lungs with the much needed oxygen. Rivers of sweat stung his eyes and his dirtied white shirt clung against him like a sticky layer of unwanted skin, but he ignored the uncomfortable feeling for the moment. Naruto knew he would need to get moving, and fast, knowing how persistent the villagers could be in making him their punching bag for the day.

As if on cue, his ears picked up the rapidly approaching footsteps of the said group. Naruto sighed tiredly, gritting his teeth as he willed his burning leg muscles to move, and took off running once again towards the nearest place with the best chance to lose the approaching villagers.

The Konoha park.

From a short distance away, a quick sweep of his surroundings told him there seemed to be no one occupying the place at the moment; which was good, as he did not have to worry about anyone giving away his location to the pursuers. From his nine-year-old standpoint, the big concrete pipes abandoned flat at one side of the park were his best bet to hide, and with a final burst of speed, his feet quickly carried him towards them, his expression hopeful.

As he got closer, however, all his hope vanished the moment he saw a young girl sitting beside the very concrete pipe he wanted to hide in.

Dressed in a simple cream-colored top and navy blue pants, the aforementioned girl was about his age, her cap of indigo, leveled cut-styled hair coming to stop just above her forehead with two chin-length strands framing her face. Though, what struck out the most to Naruto were her eyes _—_ pale white, pupil-less with a soothing tinge of lavender in them. The spiky-haired blond quickly recognized her as one of his more timid classmates in the academy, but..

….but that was all he knew about her, as she was usually shy and did not talk much to anyone during classes. Cerulean blue met white for a moment, but before either of them could say anything, the sound of incoming footsteps quickly jolted Naruto back to his senses like a clap of thunder, and he dived frantically into one of the nearest concrete pipes, ignoring the look of clueless confusion on the girl's face.

Before long, the same group of villagers set foot into the park he was currently in. Naruto dared not breath. He could not afford to make any noise, knowing it would be a very bad idea. The blond's heart hammered rapidly against his ribcage like a wild drum as he heard their footsteps became clearer and louder, fully aware of the painful consequences if they manage to get their hands on him. Then, something he feared the most happened.

"Now where's the de- ah! Hyuga-sama, did you see a boy coming here just now? About this tall? With blond hair? And.." one of the villagers had asked the girl, in a deceptively sweet voice that made Naruto feel like hurling the contents of his stomach. Though, he now identified the girl as someone from the infamous Hyuga clan, one of the most powerful clans in the village. "... with these strange marks on his cheeks?"

_'Don't tell 'em... Please don't tell 'em...' _Naruto pleaded silently in his mind, his palms going sweaty as desperation gripped his thoughts. He was dead tired from the long chase they had given him, and had almost no energy left for any form of resistance if his current hiding place were to be given out. Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, the nine-year-old waited for the worst to come.

"O-oh.. He_—"_

'_Please... no! Don't!_" Naruto was downright terrified now. He knew.. he knew this would happen! Just as he felt his heart would burst out of his chest..

"_—_went over t-that way to the bakery, I-I think," the Hyuga heiress finished with a shy voice, as she pointed to a totally different direction, away from where the blond was hiding. Inside the concrete pipe, Naruto's blue eyes widened in utter disbelief.

'_W-Wha? She...?_'

And just like that, the villagers immediately vacated the area after showering her with thanks, hot in pursuit on their elusive target like a swarm of angry wasps. The exodus of footsteps relieved Naruto somewhat, and he exhaled slowly, letting loose the long breath he had been holding. Though, that did not stop him from almost jumping out of his skin when the Hyuga knocked at the concrete pipe gently a moment later.

"A-ano, you can come out now.. They're gone."

The exhausted blond poked his head out, tentatively at first for a quick scan of his surroundings. It was only after he made doubly sure there were really no one else around did he fully get out of hiding, his tired blue eyes looking at the stuttering girl who had just saved him. Forming the sincerest expression he could manage in his current condition, Naruto gave a small bow of gratitude, panting slightly between each breath.

"That... that was really close... I don't know why you helped me, but thank you so much, um.."

"H-Hyuga Hinata."

"Uzumaki... Naruto, though I think.. you might have seen me before... since we're in the same class," the blond introduced himself with a sheepish smile despite the fatigue, his mood brightening up considerably.

Hinata nodded meekly. In fact, she herself had wanted to talk to the blond for a while now, ever since she first saw him in the academy class, but could not find the courage to do so. From her perspective, Naruto was always a hard worker and kind person in nature, despite how the villagers seemed to treat him like an outcast. On a few occasions, she even remembered seeing the boy breaking off little portions of his own food to feed a litter of homeless puppies during lunch time. Hinata just could not think of what a person like Naruto could have done to deserve such enmity from the vast majority of the village populace.

"Y-you're hurt!" the young Hyuga gasped, her white eyes taking in the rips on the blond's shirt and shorts, easily spotting some nasty-looking scrapes and bruises beneath the ruined cotton. "You should get t-those looked at by the m-medics."

"It's.. it's okay, I heal pretty fast," Naruto was inwardly taken aback by the concern in her tiny voice, but he kept up his sunny facade like usual despite the obvious pain. _'And I usually got worse than these.' _He added in his thought with a grimace, but did not voice it out, of course. "These'll be all gone by tomorrow morning, so I'm not worried! Really!"

Hinata just nodded again. And Naruto knew it was the truth. By some inexplicable healing factor, he always recovered from physical wounds faster than anyone he knew. Cuts and bruises would usually heal overnight, and on the next day, his skin would show no scars or any signs at all that he was injured previously.

Though, that was not important now, as another thought ran rampant across Naruto's mind at the moment. The boy took some time in silence, before mustering up the courage to ask the one question that always got laughed at or shot down harshly by his other classmates. But should he risk hurting his own feelings again this time? Naruto swallowed a nervous gulp as he looked at the white-eyed girl._ 'She doesn't seem to hate me.. I...I can do this. Just one.. just this one last time._'

"Hinata..right?" he fidgeted a little, but nevertheless inquired as politely as he could. "Uhm..say.. I.. c-can.. I mean.. can you.. canyoubemyfriend?"

There. He had said it, but Naruto felt like slamming his head into the closest concrete pipe. Repeatedly. He was meant to say it out nice and clearly, but ended up all tongue-tied and blurting it in a nervous mess. _'No.. my biggest chance to make a friend... and I screwed up...'_ the blond thought bitterly. It was not his fault, but a product of growing up without much interaction with people from his age group. No one had ever taught him how to approach and greet his peers properly. _'Now she'll call me a freak for sure, just like.. just like everyone else does..'_

"E-Eh?" Hinata just blinked in confusion. Much like Naruto had anticipated, she obviously did not catch what he had just said, but that was it. She did not start calling him names or anything - no idiot, freak, or stupid. Nothing. This.. this meant he still had chance to make things right!

"I..I was saying... Hinata, can you be my f-f-friend? Please?" he worked up the courage to ask again, slower this time, but still swallowed hard at the second last word. The blond's few attempts to make friends in the academy were a big letdown, as most parents would tell their children to stay away from him simply because he was either 'bad influence' or 'dangerous'. Despite all his efforts to hide the feeling away from the world, it still hurt him quite deeply when he would think about it. After a few seconds of silence, Naruto began to lose hope, but nevertheless forced a grin. "It's okay if you don't want to.. haha.. I get it… I mean-"

"I-I'd like to."

Naruto's heart skipped a beat. Her voice was so low he had almost missed it, but he clearly had not, so the blond could not help but look dumbstruck. _'Did she.. did she just...?' _A spark of hope bubbled inside his small chest. That was a definite first - he had not expected that at all. With the same expression, he could only look at the Hyuga heiress in disbelief as he try to comprehend the statement.

"Y-You mean it? Really?" Naruto almost mumbled, his tone shaky now. The boy seemed ready to break, his forced grin having vanished somewhere in the exchange.

A shy nod was Hinata's reply.

Feeling a lump rising in his throat, the blond swallowed thickly. "You don't think.. that I'm a m-monster or anything?"

"No!" the single word came out in her firmest tone yet, and Naruto was startled by the forwardness in her answer. In hindsight, it was louder that she intended, and Hinata's face heated up shyly at her own sudden outburst. Nevertheless, she quickly added, "I m-mean, I don't think you're anything like that, N-Naruto-kun."

She was still stuttering, but her tone alone was enough to tell him that she was being sincere. These were the very words he had longed for ever since he was much younger. He craved for them. Something inside the Uzumaki boy's chest felt warm, warmer than anything he had ever felt before as he tried to make sense of the emotions that were swirling inside him. The words caused what little control Naruto had over his emotions to break, the mask of forced cheerfulness he had worked so hard to maintain over the months cracked and crumbled into nothingness.

_Drip._

_Drip._

___Drip. Drip._

"...Eh?" Naruto blinked, feeling something wet land on his hand.

_'Is..it raining?'_ The boy wondered, his vision started getting blurry and warped. The sky was still as bright as it had been a minute ago, without the slightest bit of indication that it was going to rain any time soon. Even so, the wet sensation did not cease streaming out from the corners of his eyes and sliding silently down his cheeks, splattering on his hands and shirt.

Looking down, he finally realized they were tears. His tears. A single sob slipped out of Naruto's now quivering lips, followed by another, and another... until he was unable to hold back the emotional shudders racking his entire body. For the first time in a long while, Uzumaki Naruto cried tears of pure happiness, unable to contain this overwhelming feeling.

"I- Wha- Why am I crying? I should be smiling, damn it!" Naruto blubbered between sobs as he wiped his eyes quickly with one hand, but the wetness just kept trickling down his whiskered cheeks. Even so, regardless of his teary eyes and sob-racked voice, he flashed Hinata the biggest, real smile he could manage, "I.. Hinata.. this.. what you said earlier… they mean a whole...whole lot to me…." He added at the end, his voice wavering now. "Thank you... thank you.."

The rest of the afternoon passed as a blur for Naruto, with him telling Hinata some of the best pranks he had managed to pull off on some mean shopkeepers, and the girl in question listening attentively as he described his stories with wide motion of his arms, chuckling as he got to the funny parts. It was his first time that he was actually talking normally to someone his age, but one thing for sure, it felt oddly... Well, the first word that came to Naruto's mind was 'nice', but that did not quite describe it. It was a warm feeling of acceptance.

As evening came, however, they had to split paths when Hinata's caretaker, one Hyuga Kō arrived at the area, looking panic-stricken.

"There you are, Hinata-sama! You're supposed to be back in the compound since an hour ago. Hiashi-sama is worried sick," the tall Hyuga said, his eyes widening slightly for a second when he noticed the blond boy next to his clan's heiress. Though, Naruto noticed it was different from the cold looks he had received from the villagers throughout his life so far. This one held no malice at all, but instead it felt like the man was giving off an aura of … sympathy?

"I-I'm so sorry, Kō-san," Hinata quickly apologized, her hand rising to her mouth as she took note of the time. "I think I lost track of t-time."

Kō's expression softened. "No matter, we must take our leave now. Come."

Hinata nodded in understanding and walked her way towards her caretaker, but not without sparing a last glance at Naruto, who smiled and waved her goodbye. Kō, surprising the blond, gave a curt but polite nod as well, which Naruto returned a little awkwardly, not really knowing how to respond. Watching as Hinata slowly leaving his field of vision, the spiky-haired blond grinned brightly at himself at today's surprising turn of events.

He would never forget what had happened today. He had finally made his very first friend, and vowed to repay her kindness for saving him from the villagers someday in the future. However, before he could do that, Naruto knew he would have to start improving himself. Yes, there would be lots and lots of hard work waiting ahead of him, but he would not let them daunt him in the slightest bit.

A new light shone brightly in his cerulean orbs as he headed back home, his face set in determination that he never knew he had in him. Something had changed within the blond ever since that day, and even if he did not know exactly what it was, he could feel it was for the better.

Uzumaki Naruto was sure of it.

From the next day onward in the academy, Naruto began to talk more to his newfound friend, whom he still found to be quite shy around him. Nevertheless, Naruto did not mind at all. Some of his classmates started finding it weird that the soft-spoken Hyuga was unusually talkative around the blond so suddenly, but they did not give it much thought. After all, why should they care about what the Uzumaki freak was doing?

Like usual, Naruto's academy sensei would ignore the blond's queries during lessons, but that did not trouble him as much as it used to be. Naruto would consult Hinata after classes whenever there were any concepts he could not grasp in the textbooks, and the girl in question would explain patiently in ways which he could understand better. Though, Hinata had clan practices in the afternoon so she could not stay for too long, but Naruto was immensely grateful for her company. Yes, it was a slow process of learning, but he was steadily improving.

* * *

_**Uzumaki Naruto – Ten years old**_

Now, our favorite blond was in his second year in the ninja academy. His new homeroom teacher, a chunin by the name of Umino Iruka was a fair and caring person, a complete opposite to the previous one who had taught him in his first year. The scarred chunin would always answer to Naruto's doubts when he asked, and treated him with equal attention like the rest of his classmates.

Sometimes, Iruka would even treat Naruto to some lunch at Ichiraku Ramen – one of the very few eatery places in Konoha that accepted him, so Naruto was quick to include him in his list of his precious people. Over the months, Naruto's small ring of friends had included a few of his classmates who got along with him just fine, namely one Nara Shikamaru, his friend Akimichi Chouji and the feral-looking Inuzuka Kiba along with his ninken Akamaru.

For second year academy students, they were taught how to perform handseals and mold their chakra, commonly known as a mixture of physical and spiritual energy within a person's body which was essential to even the most basic of jutsu. It was not long later when they were taught the E-ranked Henge no Jutsu, a basic technique to change one's appearance by transforming into other individuals, animals or even inanimate objects. Though, in order to maintain the changes in one's looks, it would be essential for the caster to constantly feed a certain amount of chakra into the jutsu, depending on the complexity of the transformation. A better Henge would require more chakra, to put in short.

It took Naruto quite a while to grasp the gist behind the technique, but he eventually got the jutsu down with Hinata's help as well as some tips from his sensei Iruka, and his life had been much easier around the village; he could now roam freely in the streets under the guise of a random academy student, and purchase daily needs such as fresh fruits, food and warm clothes without being cruelly overpriced. Not only that, some had even given him discounts for just being polite, too! It was simply amazing what a little disguise could do. He had been, for once, treated like a normal child his age. As of late, his choice of apparel consisted of a short-sleeved, black tee shirt emblazoned with a contrasting red swirl design on the front, complemented by a pair of matching, light gray sweatshorts.

Though, in Naruto's opinion, the best thing about using Henge no Jutsu was that it enabled him to borrow books from the local shinobi library without any trouble, and under Iruka's suggestion, the very first book Naruto took home with him was _Basics in Chakra_.

The hardworking blond would usually read during night time, going as far as devoting long hours to make sure he fully grasp the concepts discussed in the pages. Through reading itself, Naruto discovered that proper control of chakra would enable one to perform shinobi techniques more efficiently, and in Konoha, that particular skill could be honed through tree and water walking exercises. It particularly caught his interest when he read about the different types of chakra natures, and that Konoha was especially famous for its lead in fire related ninjutsu. Further reading told the blond that that each individual's elemental affinity could be revealed through the use of chakra papers, made from the tissues of chakra-sensitive trees bred specifically for that purpose alone.

Early in the mornings, about five o'clock when there were not much people around was Naruto's favorite time of day. The sun would be barely risen, still resting low on the horizon while he would busy himself with various physical exercises and _taijutsu_ drills in Training Field Two – the furthest training ground away from the village center and thus usually left unoccupied. To be honest, Naruto doubted the vast majority of the village populace would even know of this secluded training ground.

The place itself was rather decently-sized, if not one of the largest among the other training fields scattered around the village. The grass here was kept comfortably short, with a few rock formations dotting here and there as well as some trees littering the area to give an impression of a real battle ground as much as possible. A small lake stretched at one edge of it, glittering under the sun. Fresh, moist air filled the place, still and crisp, the silence only broken by occasional birdsongs overhead.

It was a good spot, with majority of the harsh sunlight being blocked out by the back of the gargantuan Hokage Monument, which conveniently happened to be located some distances ahead from this place. However, the most important thing that mattered to Naruto was that he could go about training to his heart's content without the villagers bothering him, and the scenic nature was just an added bonus to it. The blond could truly feel at ease here; this place was his sanctuary.

By a stroke of fate, this was also where Naruto had made another new friend, an older boy by the name of Rock Lee as he ran past the area during one of his early morning laps. Below his mop of black hair which vaguely resembled an overturned bowl of sorts, and sitting above round black eyes had to be the thickest pair of eyebrows Naruto had ever seen in his life. The boy in question easily stood half a head taller than Naruto, usually seen in a beige martial arts top with a v-neck opening in front as well as matching brown pants. From what the blond had found out, Lee was one year older than him in the academy, and was frequently looked down by his peers since he was unable to mold chakra due to a birth defect, and as a result could not perform even the simplest of ninjutsu.

"So be it! With enough guts and hard work, I'll definitely prove to everyone that even a failure like me can become a great shinobi! That's everything to me!" was what Lee told him when they had first become friends, and Naruto really respected him for his determination. Having devoted all his time into hand-to-hand combat skills, the bowl-cut boy was easily the best _taijutsu_ user Naruto had ever met, the latter briefly wondering how someone of such skill could even be labelled a failure. One morning, when the blond had sincerely sought Lee out for some pointers in an attempt to improve his katas, the older boy had replied exuberantly with a big thumbs-up and sparkling teeth grin, much to his delight.

Ever since then, Naruto had, without fail, made it part of his routine to practice with Lee every morning. The two would usually kick off with a light sprint, followed closely by a series of push-ups, sit-ups and the like before they would work on_ taijutsu_ katas. The boys got along pretty well, and Naruto considered himself really, really lucky to have met Lee then, often viewing him like a big brother of sorts. The older boy would patiently move around him and help correcting the mistakes in his flawed stances until he got them right, while throwing in some words of encouragement in the process. They would also spar sometimes, and although Naruto never stood a chance of winning so far, he kept working harder, never complaining or giving up.

"Yosh! For this one, you'll need to move your feet closer together, for more balance. Yes, that's better. Now hold your right fist up a little higher, and keep it firm, like this. Not too tight. Good, keep it that way. You're doing great, Naruto-kun!"Lee coached during one of their morning practices. When Naruto had first shown him all the academy katas he had learned during his first year, the _taijutsu_-oriented youth quickly pointed out that there were _tons_ of glaring holes in his stances, and it was only then the blond realized his instructor at that time must have taught him the moves wrongly on purpose; he was pretty sure of that fact now, because the more mistakes he corrected under Lee's guidance, the more natural the katas felt to him.

Just to be on the safe side, the blond had requested Lee to keep his presence here a secret, not wanting anyone else, especially not the villagers to find out where he was. Much to his relief, Lee agreed without any questions, both trusting and respecting Naruto's privacy on the matter. As weeks went by, Naruto's _taijutsu_ skills had really grown remarkably with Lee's help, evident when the blond nearly ended in a draw during a friendly spar with Uchiha Sasuke, the top student of his class. Though thrilled by this development, Naruto did not stop there, instead redoubling his efforts to improve himself further.

It was also under Lee's suggestion that Naruto decided to pay the local ninja equipment store a visit, which was what he was doing right now.

_'It should be around here... Ah, found it!'_

Naruto looked up from the small piece of paper with Lee's written directions on it, his feet coming to a stop before this humble-looking building with two floors. A large sign above him proudly proclaimed 'Tagarashi's Shinobi Gears' in big silver letters, the place as a whole looking just as normal as the rest of the shophouses in the area. And Naruto, under his Henge of a random white-haired male academy student, took a readying breath before pushing through the double wooden doors as politely as he could.

"Welcome! How may I help you?"

The blond was greeted almost immediately the moment a small bell tinkled overhead as he stepped into the store. The friendly-sounding voice belonged to a young girl behind the counter who looked no older than Lee, her midnight black hair tied up neatly in twin buns. Attire-wise, she clothed herself in a sleeveless, pink Chinese-styled top, ended with dark blue pants below the clothing. At a first sight's glance, Naruto was pretty sure he had seen the girl somewhere in the academy, but he just could not remember when.

"Uhm," Naruto put up a smile, trying his best to be as polite as possible. "I'm looking for some training weights, do you sell them here?"

"Training weights? Wow! It's been a while since we have anyone wanting those," the girl's expression lit up almost instantly, looking very intrigued at Naruto's request. Perhaps a little too excited, in the boy's opinion. "May I know what kind of weights are you looking for? And the size? Oh, and also.."

Other words were spoken, but Naruto did not really catch them. Instead, he gave her a nervous look; Lee had only told him to get himself some training weights, but did not specify which kind of it. _'Uh, maybe he wants me to decide for myself.'_ Naruto mused, not really knowing what to think.

"Oi Tenten, don't scare the customer," a new voice interrupted from behind the girl now identified as Tenten, and this one belonged obviously to a man as he walked in from the back room, carrying a wooden crate of goods in his arms. From what Naruto could see, this individual was rather tall, most probably in his late thirties, wearing a simple white top and looking quite muscular. Scars, jagged-looking and likely gotten from combat decorated his right cheek, and with one look Naruto could easily guess that the man was probably Tenten's father, since they both shared the same hair color and hazel brown eyes. Turning to their spiky-haired customer, he grinned.

"Hello, name's Tagarashi Tetsuka, owner of this humble store. And she's my daughter, Tagarashi Tenten," he turned to her, while placing the load in his arms onto the counter table. "Tenten, show our customer around so he'll have a better idea what he's looking for, alright?"

"Leave it to me!" the girl bobbed her head in acknowledgement, before looking forward to face Naruto. "Come on, I'll lead the way." With an eager nod and hoping everything would go smoothly for him, Naruto was just about to follow after her, but not the girl's father chose this moment to interrupt him.

"Ah, yes, before that, please kindly drop the Henge," the man gave Naruto a expectant look, his eyes studying him knowingly. "It's always my policy here to know exactly who I'm selling my goods to."

_'What? But.. how…?' _Naruto, who clearly did not expect that, was rooted on the spot. He had been so sure there were absolutely no mistakes in his disguised form before he made his way inside, so how..? This was not supposed to happen... no way..

As if seeing the words forming on Naruto's lips, Tetsuka decided to answer the unasked question, "I was a jounin before I decided to retire, for your information."

_'...of course. __Why didn't I think of that before..?_' The young Uzumaki bit his lips nervously, mentally berating himself for his lack of forethought in the matter. It was totally possible for someone who was running a shinobi equipment store to be one of them as well, or at least used to be one, in this case. The logic had been so obvious, and yet it had never crossed his mind until he got caught in his current predicament._ 'Guess it doesn't really matter now.'_

A former jounin... If what the man had said about once having that particular rank was really the truth, then Naruto saw absolutely no point of hiding behind his disguise any longer. Sighing, the boy's shoulders slumped in a defeated fashion, cancelling the transformation technique and revealing his real self - blond hair, whiskers-marked cheeks and everything. His blue eyes watched as Tenten's father looked taken aback for a brief second, and the boy felt his hope sinking to the deepest pits of his stomach.

Having fully expecting himself to get thrown out, Naruto chose to do it himself, his face downcast as he was about to turn around towards the exit. However, what he saw out of the corners of his eyes in the next second was something he had expected the least - the man smiled. Naruto was shocked, and he looked up to make sure his eyes were not playing tricks on him.

The man had actually smiled! He really did!

And it was different from those fake smiles he had seen from the other shopkeepers, too! Different from those who would overprice even the smallest thing he wanted to purchase. This one felt so sincere and kind, and the only other adults he had seen giving him these kinds of smiles were his teacher Iruka, the Sandaime, the ramen chef Teuchi and his daughter Ayame who worked at Ichiraku, his favourite eatery stall. Somehow, Naruto felt some of the nervousness from earlier evaporated into thin air, and he started to calm down.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Tetsuka's voice brought Naruto's mind back to the present, as the blond turned his attention to the man and nodded, albeit still a bit timidly and looking somewhat perplexed. Tetsuka continued smiling, and even Tenten, too, showed only the slightest bit of curiosity as of why he had to disguise himself inside their store, but was still smiling as amicably as she was before. Naruto swallowed hard, not really knowing what to say... or think for that matter. Thankfully, the shop owner helped him by changing the topic.

"Now, I believe you're here for some training weights?"

"Eh? O-oh," Naruto nodded again, firmer this time as the rush of warm feeling began to thaw his nervousness.

"Then come this way, please. Follow me," Tenten beckoned with a wave of her hand for the boy to come, and he did, though he still had that disbelieving expression from earlier plastered on his face. '_They actually let me in here?'_

It was Naruto's first time inside a shinobi store, so he grabbed the chance to really take a good look around the place, pausing for a moment whenever his blue eyes caught sight of anything interesting. In all honestly, the blond found every single thing here interesting; he couldn't help but watch in wonder as Tenten led him past a great collection of shiny new kunais, shurikens and other pointy stuff along the way, as well as some of the longer weapons like katanas, ninjatos and bo staffs all lined up neatly in polished glass cases. They came in all sorts of shapes and sizes one could ever think of, and that, in Naruto's opinion, certainly made everything look twice as fascinating.

_'This place is so cool!'_

Other ninja tools such as smoke pellets and what seemed to be exploding tags _—_from what Naruto could recall from one of the pictures in his academy textbooks___—_ were stacked neatly in more durable containers, while ninja armors as well as protective vests of all kinds occupied the opposite wall of the shop, each of them very sturdy-looking and awesome... okay, maybe save for that one at the corner which sported a rather spooky design, to Naruto's eyes at least. Though, it was then he remembered that he had forgotten to do something rather important.

"Oh! Uhm… I'm Naruto, by the way. Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto pointed at himself as Tenten continued leading the way around the store, the boy not wanting to be rude since the shop owners had already introduced themselves earlier. A rather guilty tone weighed down his voice as he continued, "And sorry about the Henge earlier.. well..I.. it's just that…" he swallowed hard, "I mean… most of the people doesn't like me much, so.."

"I.. see. Then it's alright, I don't mind," Tenten nodded, feeling quite sympathetic about the younger boy's plight. Although a part of her was really dying to ask why, she did not attempt to prod the touchy issue any further, having been taught to respect a customer and all. But even if she did, Naruto wouldn't have an answer ready; he had been mulling over the same question again and again ever since he was much younger, but no one would tell him the answer. Turning around, Tenten placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze, "Well, here is different. So make yourself comfortable, ne? Relax."

"Thanks," Naruto allowed a grin to rise slowly on his face. He was starting to like this place. It was already hard enough to believe he had met a shopkeeper who actually accepted his presence, not to mention said person was friendly towards him. Feeling a change in the conversation topic would be nice, Naruto decided to do just that.

"Tenten-san, are you in the ninja academy? I think I might have seen you before."

"'Tenten-san'?" she blinked, pausing in her steps for a brief moment, and Naruto wondered if he had accidentally offended her or anything. Though, before the blond could say anything on the matter, said girl just looked sheepishly at him. "Eh... you're being over polite, but really, just call me Tenten," the bun-haired girl added with a smile. "And yes, I'm currently in my third year."

_'Oh, she's in the same year as Lee!'_ Naruto noted quickly. '_One of his classmates, probably.'_

"Naruto, was it?" when she received an affirmative nod in return, she went on. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you into training weights?" She quickly added. "Not that I'm trying to pry or anything, just kinda curious. It's really been a while since we have customers looking for those, you know."

"Ah, that.. actually.." Naruto grinned, looking as if he was thinking of how to put his reason into words before he began to explain rather enthusiastically, "I'm just taking a suggestion from a good friend. Says they'll do me good for my speed and stamina in the long run."

Tenten nodded in approval. It was quite rare to see someone younger than her taking physical training this seriously, but it was not unheard of. And finally, after walking past a myriad of weapons, shinobi vests and more weapons along the way, they stopped before a large metal rack on which Naruto believed to be laden with training weights.

"Well, here we are! Feel free to try any of them if you want, but please be careful," Tenten turned to the various objects on the rack with a sweeping gesture. "Some are really,_ really_ heavy."

Naruto allowed his eyes to roam through the assortments of equipment, one at a time. He first started checking on the dumb bells as well as some bulky-looking straps, and even noticed the same weight rods Lee was using in his training, but decided those were not what he thought would suit him. And so, he kept searching.

At last, his eyes were drawn to a set of black-colored bands, which outwardly looked no different like those ordinary ones made from normal fabric. Two wristbands and ankle bands, to be exact. Carefully taking one of the wristbands, Naruto fully expected it to be heavy, but much to his surprise, it weighed exactly as light as what a normal fabric band could be. Unsure of what to think, he furrowed his brows, looking at it in confusion. This was supposed to be a training weight, right?

"Chakra weights, one of our very best," Tetsuka said suddenly and appeared behind Tenten, startling both of the youngsters as they jumped slightly. Tenten crossed her arms and huffed, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'What happened to not scaring the customer?'. Laughing heartily at the sight, Tetsuka turned to Naruto, who was snickering a little at this and waiting eagerly for him to elaborate more. Unknowingly, the blond was beginning to feel at ease around those two.

"These are waterproof, and made out of very durable threads. The mesh coverings along the surface would allow more comfort and let your skin breathe," the shop owner went through the details of his product expertly, going into what Tenten dubbed as 'business mode'. "And what makes them special is that unlike our other training weights that held a fixed amount on them, these are adjustable; they have weight seals placed inside by an expert seal master. Following so far?"

The ten-year-old nodded that he understood the most part, taking a better look at the one he was currently holding. Sealing arts, based on what Naruto had heard, were notoriously known for the sheer difficulties to gain complete mastery over them; the blond had come across little tiny bits of introductory parts about seals in his studies, but that was all. That did not mean he was uninterested, however, as he was eager to find out how to activate the weight seals at the moment.

"Now, all you need to do," the man began again, slowly so that Naruto can understand, "Is to push some chakra into it for roughly three seconds, and depending on how much you've put in, it will have an increase of weight accordingly. Am I safe to assume that you know the basics of chakra channeling?"

At this, Naruto nodded again, now with an big grin adorning his whiskered face. The very skill was what required to maintain Henge no Jutsu properly, after all.

"Good, then please go ahead," Tetsuka returned with a smile of his own, inwardly noting how much his customer's contagious grin seemed to have affected him as well. It certainly reminded him of a person he once knew very well. "Go on, give it a try."

And Naruto did, as he strapped one wristband around his right wrist, before pushing from his center what he thought to be a small amount of chakra, and directed the warm feeling into it. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but suddenly he found himself stumbling a little when he felt his right arm began sagging downwards due to the increase in weight - evidently he had poured a little too much chakra into it.

"W-woah.." Naruto muttered, amazed at how much effort he needed to just simply lift his right hand back up. "Uh.. How do I return it to normal?"

"Ah, it's easy. You simply have focus on it like what you did before, but instead pushing chakra, try to feel as if you're trying to pull the chakra out of it instead. The seals will do the rest, they're designed to work that way."

Naruto mouthed an 'oh' in understanding, and quickly decided to give it a go. Doing exactly just like what he was told, the boy tried imagining himself calling the warm energy he had just supplied into the wristband back to him. A second or two passed, he was not sure, and…

"Wow," Naruto waved his right arm and looked in wonder at the black weight band once again, now feeling as light as it was before. It was simply astounding what seals could do, and whoever designed this must be nothing short of a genius, in the boy's opinion. "I did it! All right!"

Tetsuka took a second to glance at of the pure, sparkling interest in Naruto's eyes, and based on what his past experiences and gut feeling told him, he smiled inwardly; it would seem that a really hard worker had stumbled into their store, and he was pretty damn sure of it. The shopkeeper's attention was brought back to to the present again, however, when he saw Naruto's mouth opened to say something.

"This is awesome!" the blond grinned widely as he repeated the whole process for a few more times, before his shoulders visibly drooped as a sudden thought began to sink in. "But… I'm guessing they're really expensive?"

"It'll be four thousand ryou, for the whole set. And these are the last ones we have at the moment, as the materials and sealing expertise needed to make them are pretty difficult to come by these days."

Four thousand ryou. Upon hearing the amount, Naruto swallowed hard. That amount of money would mean almost two-third of his overall savings from the monthly allowances, given to him by the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Though, taking notice of Naruto's increasingly troubled look, Tetsuka felt a part of him grew softer, "Though I think I could give you a small discount, for being our first customer of the day."

That said, Naruto perked up immediately with a hopeful expression. He could not believe what he had just heard! Even Tenten shared a similar expression, her mouth gaping and perfectly imitating a fish. No way, that did not just happen! She had never seen her father giving discounts to anyone! Not even the Sandaime Hokage himself!

Ignoring their shocked looks, Tetsuka reached forward and placed his hand on Naruto's untamed, blond spikes of hair, patting them fondly. "Well, that and it's been quite a while since I've seen someone your age taking training this seriously. So how does three thousand and five hundred ryou sound?"

A slight frown marred Naruto's face as he contemplated the pros and cons of his two available choices. Buying normal, non-adjustable weights like the weight rods would definitely be cheaper, no question about it, but he would need to replace them with heavier ones when he got used to their weights. Moreover, wearing normal weights would put him in a disadvantageous position; he would have no choice but to stop and remove them if he ever need a speed boost in sticky situations such as, say, escaping from the village mob or in the middle of a fight.

On the other hand, these adjustable chakra weight bands were way different! He could wear them anywhere he go, and he just had to pour in more chakra to increase their weights when he got used to the current ones. The material used to make them was very elastic too, so he would have no problem to continue using them even as he grew physically. To add icing to the cake, he could return them to their original lightweights anytime without having to take them off, which would give him tremendous advantage in situations where he could surprise his foes with a sudden increase in speed. That thought, above all else, sealed Naruto's decision to pick the latter choice for all its advantages in the long run.

"Sure! I'm buying the chakra weight bands then, Tetsuka-san."

"That'll be three thousand and five hundred ryou total," the shop owner told him, nodding. "And is there anything else you might need?"

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment, and he grinned, "I guess I'll take some chakra papers, too."

After paying for his purchase as well as bidding the father and daughter goodbye, Naruto made a beeline back to his apartment, feeling glad that there were only a few people in the streets since it was still early. Some of them gave him the usual, cold look, but the boy ignored them; he was far too excited for anyone to spoil his good mood today.

Once Naruto was out of earshot, Tenten turned to her father, with a confused, questioning look in her hazel brown eyes. Okay, something strange was definitely going on here. Her father giving discounts was one thing, but there was another issue that troubled her mind right now, and she really needed some answers. It wasn't like her father was one to make such obvious mistake, right?

"Tou-san, the actual price of the training weights just now... it was not four thousand ryou, but _forty_ thousand, am I right? But, you... why?"

_'Huh. I knew she'd ask that.'_

Sighing internally, Tetsuka understood that he could not tell his daughter the complicated truth; only Naruto could, that was, if he ever find out in his life. Instead, the man decided to respond with the closest answer he could manage, his eyes still gazing at the path outside their store where Naruto had been seconds ago. Just now, for even the slightest moment, he could have sworn he saw the image of a certain spiky-haired, blond Hokage grinning proudly behind the boy as he disappeared into the distance.

'_Seriously, take away the whisker marks and you'll have an exact carbon copy of the Yondaime. How come none of the villagers is smart enough to see that?'_

"Maa.. just doing a favor for an old friend of mine," Tetsuka smiled enigmatically, revealing nothing else. Tenten just pouted at the vague reply, causing the man to laugh heartily at her. Before the girl could question further, however, the timely arrival of a new customer quickly distracted her out of her thoughts.

"Welcome!"

* * *

_**Back in Naruto's apartment room..**_

The walls here were painted a cheery shade of baby blue as far as Naruto could remember, and his home was really simple _—_ a moderate space equipped with an all-purpose room at the front which served as both his living as well as bedroom, followed by a small kitchen at the back, and finally a washroom where he would normally clean himself up every day. This place had a strategic sense of being located within direct sight of the Sandaime from his office atop the Hokage tower _—_ something which Naruto was extremely grateful for, as the fear of angering the powerful man kept the villagers from vandalizing it.

The modest living area where Naruto currently found himself in was clean but pretty bare for the most part. Atop a wooden wardrobe at the side where he kept all his clothes stood a desk calendar as well as an alarm clock, accompanied by a full length mirror hanging on the wall next to it. Small pots of leafy green plants could be seen around the corners and hanging from the ceiling, all well taken care of with a few of them bearing flowers. A simple, single-layered bed lay just a couple of steps away from a ramen poster by the glass windows, with a blue swirl-patterned blanket folded neatly on top of it.

All in all, it was not much, but it was home.

Back to the situation at hand, Naruto was rather eager to try out his new training weights; he quickly put on the black bands, strapping the correct pair snugly around his wrists and ankles. Channeling different amounts of chakra into one of them, the boy experimented with the increase in weights before he finally decided on a suitable amount of resistance to start with. He did the same with the other three by channeling roughly the same amount of chakra he had fed into the first one, of course.

"This feels.. rather... awkward," Naruto said to no one in particular as he tried moving his limbs; he could still move them, but it was much slower than usual due to the added weight. Then, a determined look spread across his demeanor; he was never one to back down from a challenge. "But heh, I gotta start from somewhere, right? I could get used to this."

He engrossed himself with the newly bought training weights for a little longer, before making his way over to the blue futon where he had left his other purchase, slowly as his body was still adjusting to the new weight. Naruto proceeded to peel a single piece of the chakra paper and hold it in his hand, studying it intently. Just as the books had described it, the card-sized paper looked no different than ordinary ones at all.

_'Let's see.. if my chakra nature is fire, the paper will burn, if water, it gets damp, lightning, it crinkles, wind, it gets cut up, and earth, it crumbles to dust.'_ Naruto recited inside his mind exactly what he had read from the book. Now, if he just flow a little amount of chakra through the paper, he would find out the nature of his chakra.

The boy swallowed hard, eyeing the thin object intently for a little longer. His hands were shaking slightly in excitement as he did exactly what he should – channeling the smallest amount of chakra he could into the small piece of paper. He closed his eyes… and waited. When his cerulean orbs greeted the results a second later, his mouth opened in realization.

The entire piece of paper had become damp, and there was a small cut at the end of it.

"Water… and wind," Naruto breathed in disbelief, his smile quickly replaced by a grin. He had natural affinity towards two types of chakra! Just to make sure it was not a mistake, he peeled off another piece of the special paper from the small stack he had purchased and did the same procedure again, but it still produce similar results. He grinned widely; according to the book, it was usually known only for jounin level shinobi to possess two chakra natures, and it was still a pretty rare chance for it to happen. Knowing this, it was impossible for him to not be in his good mood at his latest discovery.

Since water was his main affinity, Naruto figured he should borrow some more books to get better understanding on it, before attempting to learn any of the lower rank Suiton jutsus from the scrolls available in the Konoha library. Oh, and borrowing a jutsu scroll itself should not be that big of a problem, since all he needed to do was to Henge into a Konoha Genin to access.. well, the Genin's corner of course. Also, it was the very same civilian librarian on the Academy section who was responsible for that particular corner, so this would be a piece of cake to him. No problem.

* * *

_**A few days later, in the Konoha Local Library…**_

Naruto could be seen busying himself at the Genin's ninjutsu section, under his usual disguise of course. Since it was near noon, there were not much people around in the library, so the boy had most of the space for himself as he feasted his eyes to the moderately-sized rack, packed with D-rank to at most low C-rank ninjutsu scrolls. During his search, Naruto discovered that there were not much scrolls on water-related techniques, so his options were pretty limited. Getting into a thinking pose, he mused over the most suitable one to start with.

_'Hmm? This one should be good.'_

Naruto's nodded to no one in particular as his eyes skimmed thoughtfully over the content of a blue Suiton ninjutsu scroll he was currently reading. Though it was stated as a low C-rank, Naruto could recall the jutsu's name somewhere inside one of the best books he had read by far, and this jutsu was greatly recommended by the author for beginners. Who was the author again? Naruto was pretty sure it was someone named Senju Tobirama or something like that, and though the name now did sound vaguely familiar, he did not remember when he had come across it. Naruto decided let that thought slip his mind.

"Alright, then it's decided," Naruto whispered under his breath, his excitement barely containable inside his mind. "I'll give this one a shot!"

* * *

_**Three and a half months later…**_

"Suiton…"

Naruto inhaled deeply as he did the necessary handseals in a fluid motion, three in total for the very same low C-rank water ninjutsu he had been learning from the borrowed scroll. Lee had left some time ago, so the boy was left to his own devices, currently facing the lake at the end of his favorite training field.

It got plenty hot during this time of the month, and knowing from his first day experience that practicing water ninjutsu would mean getting himself wet quite often, Naruto had shucked his black tee shirt for better comfort. That left him in only his usual pair of gray drawstring shorts which went a little past his knees, followed by blue shinobi sandals. Worn snugly around his wrists and ankles were, of course, the chakra weight bands that he had purchased not long ago; Naruto had been wearing them to everywhere he went, steadily increasing their weights by a little after every week.

Physique-wise, Naruto was no longer the skinny boy he once was during his earlier childhood, now looking more filled up ever since he had gained easier access to more nutritious food using his Henge no Jutsu. He still loved ramen nevertheless, but he tried to have a more balanced diet whenever he could.

Faint lines of boyish muscles were beginning to show on his young body, particularly on his biceps, chest and abdominal as a result of his regular physical workouts with Lee _—_ a testament to all the hard work he had been through. Naruto had gained a little but noticeable amount of height as compared to his first year in the academy, too.

"…Mizurappa!"

Pushing the estimated amount of chakra to his mouth, the boy puffed his cheeks and expelled a strong jet spray of water, which spread out like a cone of swirling wave towards the lake. The end result was a semi loud explosion as the pressurized blast collided violently against the serene lake surface, sending splashes to its surroundings.

This was his twelfth repetition for the morning, and Naruto grinned in satisfaction as he watched the jutsu ended; it had taken him a little more than five weeks to be able to perform the jutsu correctly, which was pretty incredible, considering the fact that he was still only an academy student and had worked it out all by himself through a long process of trials and errors.

During Naruto's first few dozen of attempts, all he could do was tiny, feeble squirt of water. Though, looking at what he could do with the jutsu now, he was really glad he had not given up trying back then. As soon as he could perform it right, he had been practicing the technique over and over again, like what he was doing just then; if there was one thing Naruto had unconsciously picked up from Lee, it was that practice made perfect.

According to an illustrated book by that same Tobirama person, _Suiton: Mizurappa_ (_Water Release: Violent Water Wave_) was one of the commonly-used jutsu for shinobi to create their own supply of water for more devastating Suiton ninjutsus, and depending on the amount of chakra he fed into the technique, its strength was also varied. _'A pretty neat one.'_ Naruto admitted.

Salty beads of sweat rolled down his face, intermingling with the droplets of water that had splashed onto his skin from earlier practices and tracing down the rest of his uncovered skin. Brushing away a sweat-drenched spike of blond hair plastering against his forehead, Naruto grabbed a towel he had brought along with him and quickly cleaned himself up, noting that he still had a good half an hour left before the academy class would start on that morning.

With a content sigh, Naruto plopped backwards and stretched out in a comfortable sprawl, the stalks of dewy grass as well as light breeze coming as a cool relief to his skin. The blond grinned when a bird fluttered down to perch on his shoulder, chirped at him cheerily, and then flew off to the distance; for some reason, smaller animals always seemed to be rather attached to him. Watching serenely as a few leaves floated gently to the ground to join several more of them on the sea of green, he savored the peace a little longer, before finally springing back to his feet once he decided he should probably get going.

_'Wouldn't want to be late,'_ Naruto told himself as he picked off a few leaves that got stuck to his back and hair. The preteen promptly reached down and collected his shirt from where he had left it on the grass, before pulling the garment over his head. It had been a good day so far - his training was coming along great, and his morning was shaping up just nicely….

Until now.

Just as his head popped out from the top opening of the soft cotton, Naruto's smile faded when he caught a sliver of movement on the periphery of his senses, which was followed by a strange, unnatural rustling noise coming from a thick distant bush outside the training field.

Alarmed, the blond jerked towards the direction and suspected a large animal, probably a deer, but his gut feeling told him otherwise; throughout all the times he had trained in this area, he had never seen any animals bigger than birds around here._ 'What was that just now?'_ It made him uneasy, somehow. With curiosity getting the better of him, Naruto hastily finished getting dressed and decided to take a look.

Something fishy was definitely going on, he just knew it.

Naruto approached as noiselessly as he could along the way, pausing a few times to look around in uncertainty as he moved onward. It did not take him long before he took a careful peek behind the bush, and what he saw, however, shocked him. There, lying on the grassy ground was a girl with her arms and legs tied up and her mouth gagged with a fistful of cloth, and what surprised him more was the fact that she was someone he had known too well.

_'No way... It can't be...' _

"Hinata?" the boy gasped, shock evident on his face. The girl's head snapped up almost immediately at the mention of her name, her expression morphed into a hopeful one as she looked at her familiar blond-haired friend, her pale white eyes welling with unshed tears. From his position, Naruto noticed she had no wounds on her person, and that calmed him down a little. But what the heck was going on here?

"What happened?" Naruto asked in genuine concern, as he quickly approached the girl. "Who did this to you?"

He could tell Hinata was trying to say something, but whatever that came out of her throat were muffled by the gag in her mouth. The first course of action Naruto had instinctively decided in his mind, naturally, was to free the girl of her restraints. He was only halfway in his steps, however, when he saw her pearly white eyes widened in shock. Hinata's hair whipped back and forth as she shook her head frantically in alarm, as if warning him about some unforeseen danger lurking around the area. It was then a new presence decided to make himself known.

"_Ho_... And I was hoping none of you stupid tree-huggers would find this place…"

The ten-year-old blond felt his blood freeze over as an unfamiliar voice drawled from behind him. It was unmistakably a man's, the tone coming relaxed and unmotivated, but Naruto felt otherwise as a sense of foreboding began washing over his senses. Whoever it was was definitely unfriendly, and his previous speech hinted the blond that this man did _not_, by any chance, belong to Konoha.

"But it turns out to be just some random brat.. oh well.."

Just as the last syllable reached Naruto's ears, his eyes widened just in time to catch a glimpse of a gleaming silver metal _— _a kunai in the stranger's hold, its sharp tip heading straight towards his neck without warning. There was no time for anything else, and every instinct inside of him screamed only a single word. He had to_—_

_'MOVE!'_

Time seemed to stand stock still at the moment; Naruto willed his body to move out of harm's way, Hinata's eyes widened even further as she saw the kunai descended in slow motion at her spiky-haired friend, and the mysterious assailant had a strangely sadistic grin on his face. There was a metallic flash of cold steel, a rustle of leaves, and the sickening noise of kunai greeting flesh echoed in the still morning air.

* * *

**~End chapter 1~**

Tadah, a cliffhanger! *grins evilly at the readers*. And yes, a Suiton-chakra Naruto. So how was it? Good? Bad? Any suggestions? Feel free to throw in some reviews so I can know what you guys think about this chapter.

See you next time! And Chapter 2 will be more action-packed, so be sure to look forward to it.

Ja ne~


	2. Chapter 2 The Will to Protect

_**Some Words from the Author:**_

_Hiya all, Chapter Two is up! Enjoy! _

_Please review after reading so I can know what you think, thank you! __Here, a nice suggestion of soundtrack to listen to while reading:_

_http : (slash)(slash) www . youtube . com (slash) watch?v=ZSyqBNftpcM_

_Simply remove all the spacings and replace (slash) with a ' / ' It'll get your mood up. :D_

* * *

**Chapter 2 – The Will to Protect**

* * *

Raita Hokori was a jounin in _Kumogakure no Sato __—_ the Village Hidden in the Clouds, but in truth his fighting prowess was at best mid-chunin level as compared to those who were truly Jounin level. It was a hasty promotion by the council of Kumo when they were low in their main force during one of the village's endeavors to suppress a small-scaled invasion from one of their neighboring villages, and Hokori was able to keep this rank since then no orders of taking it back were ever issued. Well, lucky him.

Personality-wise, this silver-haired man was very prideful of himself; he did not train much, but was always considering himself several cuts above those whose ranks were lower than his, and would usually boast to his peers about how he was going to create history for Kumogakure very soon.

Today, his dream would come true, as the Raikage had appointed him and three other Jounins for a top secret mission to abduct Hyuga Hinata, the heiress of the Hyuga clan from Konohagakure. Hokori had eagerly accepted the quest, and he could not wait to see the faces of those he considered inferior to him when he would be heralded as Kumo's hero who brought back the powerful _Kekkei Genkai_, the all-seeing Byakugan to the village.

Their plan to infiltrate Konoha early in the morning had gone without a hitch so far, and they currently had Hyuga Hinata in their possession, all bound and gagged. Their only problem now was how to escape the walls of Konoha undetected, since they were pretty sure the security would be tightened very soon; after all, how long would it take for a hidden village of Konoha's stature to notice one of their clan's heiress was missing from her bed?

His other Jounin comrades had told Hokori to guard the heiress while hiding in a secluded, bushy area outside of Konoha's Training Field Two. The rest of them would disguise and merge themselves within Konoha's populace to update him of their movements as well as the safest escape route out of the village in the midst of chaos. Hokori had agreed to the idea, though begrudgingly; he hated taking orders from anyone except the Raikage, it made him feel inferior to them somewhat.

Nevertheless, as this man grabbed the Hyuga girl, who had somehow regained consciousness and whose futile struggling annoyed him all the way to the place he was supposed to be in hiding, he accidentally stepped on a twig in all his haste, nearly lost his footing and ran into the very bush he had chosen to be his hiding place. It was then Hokori tensed; the noise he created had seemed to attract an unwelcomed visitor, and he quickly left the Hyuga on the grass while hiding himself behind a nearby tree, his heart thumping nervously as he almost expected some Konoha's finest shinobi, the _Sharingan no Kakashi_ for instance, to suddenly step into view.

_No_, Hokori told himself. He was on the cusp of great success, and would be damned to let anyone get in his way. However, he could not believe his luck when it was only a normal-looking, blond-haired kid whom he judged was not even a Genin walked carefully into the vicinity.

Hokori watched as the surprised young boy approached his captive, and judging from the fact that this boy seemed to know the Hyuga girl, he must be here to rescue her or something.

_'God, what an idiot. Does he really think he can pull that off?_' The Kumo shinobi mentally scoffed at the sheer stupidity of the action, barely holding in his amusement while he was at it. Silently, he slipped a kunai from his back pouch and held it in a reverse grip. It was time to act.

With the entire of blond boy's attention on his Hyuga friend, Hokori had no problem sneaking behind him, but then the annoying Hyuga girl began to shake her head wildly to warn her friend of his presence. He should have just knocked her unconscious again in the first place, but oh well, never mind that. He could always do it later.

"_Ho_... And I was hoping none of you stupid tree-huggers would find this place…" Hokori drawled, enjoying the surprised reaction from the blond, watching as the boy's limbs all tensed up in his presence. That felt.. good; the fear was something he took more than a small amount of pleasure in seeing in his foes. Yes, he felt superior, even if he was facing just an academy student.

"But it turns out to be just some random brat.. oh well.."

Wasting no time, the Kumo Jounin brought the kunai in his hand down towards the boy's neck, intending to finish it quickly after making his dramatic entrance. Well, the look on the Hyuga's face when she saw her friend being stabbed from behind should be quite amusing, Hokori thought quietly to himself, as a sadistic grin graced his lips.

He watched as his kunai descend closer and closer to its blond-haired target, but at the last moment, the boy had moved so suddenly and unexpectedly that his strike had missed the intended vital point... completely. It took him a full second to realize his killing blow had been escaped by an academy student. An academy student! That.. that..

Impossible.

Someone with Hokori's amount of pride could not possibly accept that. His minty green eyes narrowed, he was pissed.

No, scratch that, he was_ very pissed._

* * *

Naruto winced as he landed some distances away from his attacker, while still keeping Hinata within his sight. It was only sheer reflex that had saved him from taking the worst of the kunai strike, but that did not mean he had escaped the attack unscathed, however.

The blond's right hand was now clutching the upper left of his back where a long, vertical rip could be spotted on his black shirt, the torn cotton exposing a bleeding slash on his skin. The cut was shallow, and although it would not hamper his movements, it still hurt nevertheless. Blocking out the throbbing pain, Naruto took his first glance at the assailant, who appeared to be a young man nearing his twenties.

Short but wild, spiky silver hair, mint green eyes which looked slightly slanted at the ends, tanned complexion... this man was just average in height for his age group with a lean build, and over his dark gray top was a flak vest of alabaster white which covered from his left shoulder down to the rest of his upper body. A cross-shaped strap of sorts rested just above each knee over his matching dark pants, and further down, completing the look was a pair of shin guards with vertical red stripes on them. Sunlight glinted off something metallic on the man's forehead — a ninja forehead protector, Naruto quickly noted, and the boy could make out unfamiliar patterns on it which strangely resembled cloud patterns. That alone confirmed his earlier suspicion. This stranger was in no way affiliated with Konoha.

Naruto's focus shifted back and forth between this person and Hinata, his eyebrows tightening as he silently contemplated the possible choices of actions at the moment. There had to be something he could do. Since this man was definitely a shinobi, Naruto decided against the idea to just grab Hinata and run; that was too risky for the both of them, but he cared more for his indigo-haired friend than for himself. This only left him with his other options – to stall as long as he could or finding some way to notify the others from the village to this location.

At this thought, Naruto swallowed nervously as he glanced at his black chakra weights; this would be the time to release the chakra in them, for he would need all the speed he could get if it came down to fighting. He knew, somehow, that this was one battle that he might not survive, much less win, but Hinata... he would do anything in his power to protect her, his precious friend. It was his promise to himself that he would repay Hinata for her kind deed a year ago, and Uzumaki Naruto made it a point to never break any of his promises. _Ever_.

"That... was some pretty narrow escape."

Naruto's attention turned to Hokori as he started speaking. Despite the man's ire and frustration from earlier, he kept up his smug look, as he constantly did. "Some silly beginner's luck, I wonder? But I'm afraid that won't help you much."

"Who are you? And what are you trying to do to Hinata?" the Uzumaki growled, while in his mind he was quietly lowering his chakra weights back to their normal lightness. Naruto watched as the man seemed to ponder about revealing his information for a second, but decided to do it, probably in hopes of intimidating him.

"Raita Hokori, jounin of Kumogakure," said man introduced himself smugly, not really care to give away his identity; he decided he was going to kill the brat after all, so it did not matter. That was what he thought, at least. "I came to bring the Hyuga brat to Kumo."

_'More like kidnap_.' Naruto gnashed his teeth, angered by that blatantly obvious statement, but this feeling was soon overtaken by fear. A nervous bead of sweat trailed a path down the side of his face. '_But if this guy really is a jounin, then..'_

Still keeping his eyes glued to the supposed jounin, the boy tried moving his limbs experimentally in secret; he had to check whether the weights had been lifted back to normal and much to his relief, they did, as he could feel his body getting a lot lighter all of a sudden. '_Good, I dunno how much this will help me, though. Maybe.. maybe I should try to keep the talk going.'_

Unfortunately for Naruto, Hokori had something else in mind. Beneath his constantly smug facade, the Kumo-nin was actually still seething inside. This… academy _brat_ had humiliated him completely earlier, and he was not going to let it slide so easily. Since he was told to wait here for further instructions anyway, using the boy to vent some of his frustration might be able to kill himself some waiting time. Yes, that seemed like a wonderful idea.

"Now that I've shown myself in the open, I'm afraid I can't let you to leave here alive.. _brat_," Hokori spread his tongue slowly over his lips, his smirk turning more malicious with each syllable as he thought of all the possible ways he could utterly destroy the boy. Processing an afterthought, he chuckled darkly, and pocketed the kunai he had used earlier back into his tool pouch behind his pants. "Hmph, and I won't even need my weapons to do it."

With that said, there did not seem to be any way out of this but to fight. Naruto felt a surge of adrenaline. This would be nothing like those friendly spars he had gone through in the academy or with Lee, not with his life now on the line. Naruto bit his lips and kept silent. '_But he's obviously underestimating me, so maybe.. maybe...'_

Gathering his courage_, _the spiky-haired boy steeled himself and slid fluidly into a loose stance he had practiced countless times with Lee, his legs spreading a shoulder's width apart as he brought his right fist in front of his chest, keeping his other ready at his side. Out of the corners of his eyes, Naruto could see Hinata's worried look some distances away, and he gave her a thin smile.

_'Don't worry, I'll definitely protect you. Whatever happens, no matter what!' _

Hinata's white eyes widened. She could almost hear Naruto saying that to her just then. The blond was smiling for her, trying to calm her down, trying to chase away her fears. Even in the face of such danger, he was still trying keep a brave front for her. Though, in her position, she could only hope for the boy's safety, while futilely trying to loosen the ropes around her limbs.

Naruto waited and did nothing but keep his eyes locked at the Kumo shinobi for now, as Lee kept telling him during their spars that it would be highly inadvisable to rush headfirst into an adversary whose skills he had no idea about. The spiky-haired boy did not have to wait long, however, as the foreign shinobi wasted to time closing the distance between them.

"Stop ignoring me, you cocky little _brat_!" Hokori rushed towards Naruto, obviously angered by the boy's lack of verbal response. He had totally expected the boy to panic and started begging him for mercy earlier, but there he stood in his fighting stance, waiting for him to make a move. It was official; the Kumo-nin was furious now. '_How dare he even think he stands a chance of winning!?'_

Naruto dropped low just in time as Hokori's fist sailed over his head, and he instinctively retaliated by bringing his legs around in a sweep. The taller man jumped over it, snorting smugly as usual as he brought one his legs down in a dropping axe kick to crush the blond, but was surprised when his attack was blocked by a quickly made, cross-armed guard that he had not seen coming from an academy student. Even so, Hokori had expected the power behind his kick to crush the boy's guard like nothing, but instead its momentum was held in place by a surprising amount of resistance.

Naruto gritted his teeth and grunted under the man's greater weight, the heels of his footwear digging into the ground for added support. At the same time, the blond was quick to take advantage of Hokori's momentary lapse in concentration, and he pushed forward with everything he got; the sudden action caused the Kumo-nin to almost lose his balance as he flipped himself in the air and landed some distance away, his expression one of shock.

_'A mere brat… is actually keeping up with me?'_ Hokori seethed angrily, unable to comprehend the situation at hand. Fine, deep down he knew that_ taijutsu_ was not really his forte, but this was infuriating._ 'And what's with that speed? He's much faster than earlier!'_

Meanwhile, Naruto was just as surprised as the kidnapper was, as he looked at his hands in awe and disbelief. '_I just.. did it. I didn't really think about it, and my body just moved._' To be perfectly honest, the blond had expected himself to become a total punching bag to this supposed jounin-level shinobi, but he could somehow feel how his foe would move and was fast enough to respond instinctively. This strength and speed… Naruto had never felt himself so strong and moving so fast throughout his life. _'Maybe it's because of all the spars I did with Lee?'_

This was not the time to marvel too long at his own growth, however, and Naruto knew it. Feeling buoyed up by this newfound confidence, Naruto quickly settled into a defensive stance, getting ready for the man's next move.

Soon, Hokori came charging back and they were locked in fierce combat again, as flurry of physical blows sped between the academy student and supposed jounin. Mostly on the defensive, Naruto's smaller size gave him quite an edge over the larger man as he ducked, twisted and jumped over most of the attacks thrown at him barely at hair's breadth. The blond must admit, the natural evasiveness his body had unconsciously developed over the years thanked to the ever pursuing villagers did help a little here.

Though, even as nimble as he was, Naruto knew he couldn't keep dodging forever. A couple of sharp blows eventually caught the boy's body as the fight progressed, mainly because of the Kumo-nin's greater reach and real combat experience over him. The air was painfully whooshed out from Naruto's lungs as another fist nailed him in the gut, but he was quick to shake off the worst of the pain and kept on moving, never staying on the same spot for any longer than necessary. Although the blue-eyed boy was now sporting some bruises and had yet to score any clean hits against his foe, he was still positively holding his own.

In fact, he was starting to see a pattern in the Kumo-nin's movements, albeit slowly.

Hokori grew more and more frustrated as the fight progressed. No matter how many times he sent the stupid boy sprawling on the ground, he would just keep getting back up! The sheer tenacity of his was really starting to grate Hokori's nerves to the next level. What was the boy trying so hard for? Couldn't he see that he was just delaying his inevitable defeat in the end? What would it take to break him?

"You stupid brat! Stop trying to act so tough! Why! Why won't you just give up already!?"

"Because... because that's the one thing I'm worst at doing!" Naruto leveled a fierce glare at his opponent, blue eyes gleaming with unwavering resolve. "I'll never give up!"

_'What rubbish!'_ Hokori thought as he, once again, brought the boy down with a harsh kick to the chest. Reflexively catching himself on one hand, Naruto barely bit back a wince as jagged stones met his palm abrasively, the boy quickly rolling out of the way of a heavy stomp and lashing a leg out at the same time in an attempt to catch the man off guard with another sweeping move. Inexperienced in real fights he might be, but Naruto knew an opening when he saw one. _'Now!'_

"Useless, like that's gonna work!"

The shinobi jumped to avoid the offending appendage easily like the first time... only for his green eyes to grow wide with surprise; in mid air, no further than a few inches below his current position with a fist cocked back, was the brat. Naruto had redirected all his momentum from earlier and suddenly leaped upwards at that very moment Hokori did, as if having predicted it to happen. Teeth clenching tightly, the blond had a sheer look of dogged determination as lashed his fist forward with every ounce of strength he could muster.

'_What the..! This little.._' The Kumo-nin swore incoherently under his breath. He could not possibly dodge it in his current position in mid air, not to mention the initial shock had taken away his time to have a guard prepared. It was far too late to do anything now. '_No.. the brat couldn't possibly hi—'_

And hit it did.

With a resounding_ 'WHACK!',_ the fierce uppercut connected solidly against Hokori's jaw, clanking his teeth painfully together and knocking the breath out of him. The force behind Naruto's fist sent the Kumo-nin sailing up the air for a brief moment, before landing unceremoniously on his backside. That punch had _hurt_. '_There's no way!'_ He screamed inside his mind. '_There's no freaking way this is actually happening!'_

The blond's heart did a great leap inside his chest. His first hit! He had finally landed his first hit! He could do this!

Taking this chance to catch his breath, Naruto winced as he wiped a fist over the corner of his bloodied lips. Much to his worry, the fatigue from his training prior to finding Hinata and all the fighting was slowly kicking in. Sweat trailed down the boy's forehead in rivulets as his ruined black shirt followed the slightly labored heaving of his chest. Naruto knew his torso was likely a discoloured mess of black and purple under the cotton, but the blond-haired boy stood valiantly nevertheless, keeping a watchful eye over his friend in case the Kumo-nin decided to play dirty by grabbing her and run.

Little did he knew, Hokori was planning to do something akin to that soon.

"You... damn brat! Now you've really _don_e it!" The prideful, silver-haired man got up from his awkward position from the ground, his fists shaking and eyes murderous as he glared openly at the boy who had continuously humiliated him until now. Though, as he took in the genuine concern the boy held for the Hyuga heiress, a menacing grin began to work its way onto his lips as his eyes gleamed maliciously._ 'Yes, the girl. She'll be the perfect bait.'_

Dead set on carrying out whatever plan he had in mind, Hokori rummaged his back pouch, and Naruto could see two kunai blades being pulled out of it. This set off several alarms in the latter's mind as he immediately went on guard, not liking the looks in the man's eyes. Like a coiled spring, the boy's muscles tensed in preparation as he readied himself to react to whatever tricks the man had in store for him.

'_So much about not using weapons.' _Naruto gritted his teeth. Being only a second year academy student, he did not have any weapons on his person, much less the necessary knowledge to wield them properly. '_This is bad... this is really, really bad!'_

Then, without any warning, the metallic blades were thrown forcefully forward, and Naruto couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. They seemed to be heading towards somewhere else instead of him, but where? Blue eyes following and roughly tracing their trajectories as they speared through the air, the blond felt fear gripping his insides upon realizing who the Kumo-nin's real target was.

_'Hinata!'_

There was simply no time for anything else! Naruto's legs were already in motion the moment that thought registered, the boy shooting off running faster than he had thought possible towards the girl in question, completely heedless of the aching protests from his own wounds as he did. The blond hoped he would be in time, no, he _had_ to be in time or he would never be able to forgive himself. Everything around him seemed to crawl at a snail's pace as he watched, unable to take his eyes off the two kunais as they slowly zeroed in their desired mark, the blades glinting dangerously under the sunlight. It almost looked like the steel were eager to meet flesh.

_'Please!'_ Naruto screamed desperately inside his head, his feet kicking off the ground in mid-sprint as he, with reckless abandon, _hurled_ himself towards the empty space between his friend and the oncoming projectiles of death. '_Please let me make it!'_

_'Naruto-kun, no! Don't come any closer! Run away!'_ Hinata squeezed her eyes tightly shut from her position, hoping the blades would somehow miss the both of them, or miss Naruto, at least. The boy had done more than enough for her until now. She did not want to see him getting himself hurt for her anymore! In moments like this, Hinata truly hated herself for being so weak. If only she could free herself from the tight ropes restraining her movements..

For a chilling moment that felt like eternity, everything went dead quiet... and then_—_

"Ngg_ghhk_!"

Hinata's eyes grew wide in silent horror the next time she opened them. Her worst fears were confirmed before her very sight.

Pain. White-hot pain took over Naruto's senses as soon as two solid '_thump!'_ reached his ears. The wickedly sharp tools had bitten deeply into his upper back while he was still in mid air, the brunt of the damage eliciting a strangled cry from the boy. Stars soon exploded all around Naruto's vision when gravity regained its hold on him, sending the ten-year-old crashing face first into the ground. Naruto hissed and writhed in agony as he clawed at the earth with trembling fingers, his struggles gradually weakened to small twitches before he seemingly stayed unmoving altogether.

"_Keh…Kehahaha__ha!_ I knew he'd fall for it!" Hokori took in the absolute horrified look on Hinata's face, who now had tears spilling freely out of her eyes as she could only watch helplessly at Naruto's prone form. The shinobi threw his head back and laughed openly in mad glee at the sight of blood slowly seeping over the boy's ruined shirt, giving it a darker shade of black. Hokori mentally patted himself on the shoulder for a plan well executed, fully thinking the annoying brat was finally dead.

"You fool! Even if you let them hit the heiress, the worst they'd do were a couple of scars on her pretty face! How absolutely stup-"

That was then he felt it. He had just made the biggest mistake in his life by saying that.

Hokori's gloating laughter died abruptly inside his throat as the air around him was weighed down by an overwhelming, suffocating curtain of raw killing intent. He spun wildly to determine the source, only to find that it was emanating from the supposedly dead academy student. What was worse, the bulk of the murderous sensation seemed to be directed at him, and it had almost made him lose his footing and fell on his rear for the second time in the same morning.

A sense of absolute dread began to pervade his senses. '_What .. is this feeling?'_

Barely maintaining an upright posture, Hokori watched, fearfully as a thin but visible layer of ominous red chakra slowly spread over the downed boy's body like a flaming blanket, and a second later, said boy was slowly getting up, his fingernails slightly elongated and sharpened at the tips. The two kunais from earlier were still stuck firmly onto his back, but he showed no signs of even registering to the pain.

"You... You even tri**ed hurting Hinata..**" Naruto's said through gritted teeth, his voice coming out almost like a feral growl by the end of it. Rage, pure and thick unlike anything else he had felt before flooded his senses, to the point that it felt as if his blood were boiling. Fingers curled into tight fists, so tightly that they drew blood from his palms as the blond turned around and threw his head up, meeting the Kumo kidnapper dead in the eyes. Naruto was so angry that his fists were shaking too much for him to hold them steady.

Hokori gaped, horrified as he took in the boy's facial changes. Naruto's blond hair bristled wildly to give itself an even spikier definition, the whisker-marks on his cheeks became more pronounced than before, and his canines grew in length until they poked against his bottom lips. Though, none of these came even close in comparison to the features which had undergone the most drastic of changes _—_ his eyes. They were no longer their gentle blue hues, now having replaced by two vicious crimson irises with dark vertical slits as the pupils. It felt as if the Shinigami himself was glaring right through his soul.

Cold sweat washed over Hokori like a bucket of ice down his back. For just a brief moment, he could have sworn he saw the fiery chakra coalesced into a beast-like form with two rows of razor sharp teeth; it was a terrifying sight which filled him with an undefinable feeling of fear. The Kumo-nin did not move, no, he _could not_ move, and he felt as if every of his muscles were rooted to the spot by this horrible sensation.

_'What the hell is this brat!? And t-this chakra.. what is this power? A kekkei genkai? No..'_ Hokori began to panic, and then his eyes went wide as if a sudden realization had sunk in. '_He.. d-don't tell me this stupid brat is.. is…'_

"... **I'll KILL YOU, YOU **_**BASTARD**_**!**"

Twirling crimson chakra exploded all around the boy's body like living flame, and Naruto's ferocious roar, imbued with his anger as well as rolling waves of massive killing intent sent an arc of shockwave reverberating across the area. The invisible blast blew up loose earth fragments along with stray leaves with great force, and it had almost taken Hokori everything to stop himself from toppling over, the man taking a small involuntary step back in fear. Though, in that desperate moment, the Kumo shinobi's survival instincts seemed to kick in; he somehow managed to regain some feelings in his hands, as he shakily reached into the equipment pouch behind his back.

"D-Don't you dare screw with me!" Hokori yelled with panic, all his earlier smugness forgotten as he flung a fistful of shurikens wildly at the blond despite his still shaking appendages, as if hoping it would be enough to strike him down by some stroke of miracle. "You're just a stupid half-dead brat, nothing more! Die!"

Unblinkingly, Naruto did not even bother evading as the metallic stars came whirling by, their sharp edges dragging a series of nasty cuts on his left cheek and shredding his dirt-encrusted shirt to ribbons at the shoulders, before lodging onto a tree trunk a short distance behind. That did nothing at all to save Hokori from his current situation. If anything, it only served to fuel Naruto's rage even more, now with the blond's demeanor darkening several shades, fangs bared in a terrible snarl of fury as he crouched on all fours...

And then he was gone.

In one powerful red-black blur of explosive motion, the blond had literally launched himself forward like some sort of frenzied animal, and Hokori leaped away just in the nick of time to see a chakra-coated fist slamming down the earth where he had been standing a second ago. He considered himself extremely lucky to have evaded it then; the raw power behind the blow was incredible, if the sound of cracks extending from the point of impact _—_ a fist-sized crater _—_ was any indication. However, when the curtain of dust thinned down, the boy was nowhere in sight. That was definitely something to worry about.

_'D-Darn it!'_ Hokori cursed when his eyes caught a red blur of movement, but there was a new problem _— _the flickering crimson seemed to have quickly multiplied in number as it closed in around him from almost every direction. The man was not sure whether his eyes were playing tricks on him, but now was not the time to be thinking about it. Biting his lips, he forced his shaking hands into motion, as he quickly started weaving through handseals in preparation for one of the most powerful, area-wide ninjutsu in his arsenal to take care of this mess. _'This is bad! I have to end this quickly!'_

Bluish-white sparks of standard lightning chakra gathered and arced across his fingers as he did, and the Kumo-nin knew he was almost done with the necessary sequence. However, before he could even think of launching the attack... or better yet, before he could even finish his last couple of handseals for the matter...

Raita Hokori found himself being sent careening, full-force across solid earth when his world exploded into a white haze of pain merely one second later; the very same red chakra had _stretched _like a bubblegum and blindsided him from an almost impossible angle, the sudden impact causing his half-completed jutsu to quickly lose form before dispersing harmlessly as if it were just a bunch of cheap fireworks. The malicious red energy surrounding Naruto seemed to have a mind of its own, and Hokori simply did not see that coming until it was all too late.

_'Im-Impossible...! I couldn't even...!'_

Said man gritted his teeth, reeling in pain as his body finally skidded to a stop after several meters away, with him now sprawling awkwardly on his back. Mint green eyes glazed over with a mixture of shock and disbelief; it almost felt as if he was hit by an entire sack of concrete bricks, his white jounin vest giving in and barely cushioning the blow... but he was given no time to think or react.

Like how an angry cat would pounce on its prey, the boy was right upon him in the next second, one fist raised and growling in a low rumble.

If the initial strike had been painful, then the follow-up punches were three times as damaging compared to that. The supposed jounin soon found himself barely stifling his screams and coughing up blood as he took another punch to his chest, then another to his chin, then another, and another.. each blow much heavier than the last as the boy unleashed his righteous fury on him.

**"... never forgive... People like you... I WILL _NEVER_ FORGIVE!"**

Even when his knuckles began to hurt and were speckled with blood, Naruto did not let up. The boy punched, punched and punched, throwing his fists forward as hard as he could and shouting with dark rage even when his voice became hoarse, even when him arms shook tiredly with the exertion. None of these mattered right now. His mind only registered a single thought _—_ this man had tried inflicting harm upon one of his _most_ precious people.

And he_ would_ make him _pay_.

_'At.. at this rate.. I'll..'_ Hokori wanted to escape so _very_ badly, but all his limbs just would not _move_. This whole situation was so unreal; he was supposed to be the one doing the beating here, not getting his living snot beaten out of him by some.. by some wet behind the ears academy brat! Though, that was beside the point now. It was not like the foreign ninja could bear the pain any longer. _'No.. I don't want to die like this! Stop! STOP!'_

"M-M_ONSTER_! STOP IT! _NO!_" the man had finally forsaken all his pride, his lips parting almost on its own accord to _howl_ in desperation as he saw Naruto cocked a bloodied fist backwards, obviously preparing for the finishing blow. It was as clear as day to anyone that the boy had pumped a lot of power into this particular strike _— _his entire fist was literally set ablaze with thick wisps of the crimson chakra.

_Monster_.

That one word stopped Naruto cold. His fist trembled and hovered a mere inch away from the man's already battered face from the earlier pummeling... and he froze. Numbly watching Hokori for the moment as the man half-scrambled, half-crawled a few steps away from him, Naruto seemed to have snapped out of whatever trance he had entered. The boy's senses slowly came back to him, his resolve crumbled and fierce expression faltered.

_'I..__Wha..What have I almost done?' _Naruto stared, wide-eyed at his visibly shaking hands, parts of them now caked with blood._ 'But.. more importantly..'_

The blond boy quickly whipped his attention back to Hinata, whom he noticed was looking somewhat fearfully at him right now. _'Is she... afraid of me?'_ All the strength left his body as soon as it came, as Naruto's breathing turned into erratic gasping. Almost in slow motion, the blond watched as his own body hit the ground hard in a dazed heap, first with his knees buckling under his weight like wet noodles, followed by his shoulders, and finally one of his cheeks soon met the unwelcoming cold earth beneath him with a painful_ thump_.

The red chakra faded away from view, and his whisker-marks receded to their normally thin lines. The blond's eyes flickered disconcertingly between crimson and cerulean until their natural colors once again regained their full dominance, the angry slits returning to round pupils. Naruto was in shambles. His muscles had never felt so worn out, and he could not move. In fact, he could barely breathe; his lungs simply burned with the effort as if they were set on fire, not to mention every single wound on his person _—_particularly the kunai-inflicted ones_—_ chose this moment to remind him of their presence. Copious amount of sweat ran freely down his face and skin as if he had run fifty laps around the entire of Konoha.

_'Gghk... my body... feels so heavy...'_

Though unsure of what had happened in the last few seconds, Hokori decided to take this chance to recover some of his wounded pride. Almost zombie-like, he clambered to his feet, and wobbled unevenly towards the now vulnerable and exhausted blond, a gleaming kunai in hand. _  
_

Blue eyes half shutting close due to obvious fatigue, Naruto could only watch in sheer helplessness as the man inched closer and closer to him, his bladed weapon raised shakily in preparation for a last-ditch, overhead strike to the neck. A pained hiss escaped the blond's throat as he strained to push himself up, but his body simply refused to even lift an inch off the ground. Not that that would stop him from keep trying to coax life into any of his limbs, but still, none of his efforts were working. There was simply no way in dodging this; he could hardly muster the strength to even lift a finger at the moment. Things were not looking good for him.

Not good at all.

'_I can't... give up here...gotta... get up..' _Naruto gnashed his teeth together, gasping feebly for breath and wincing as every little spasm of his muscles sent sharp pinpricks of numbing pain lancing through his senses. '_..ove... even just a little bit... move! Please move!'_

"H-Heh..I've completely underestimated you, you damn brat.. but.. even if I fail to deliver the Hyuga back to Kumo.. heh…" Hokori wheezed, a crazed grin forming on his lips as his breathing grew heavier by the second. Time seemed to grind to a halt as the Kumo nin's metallic weapon descended in a deadly arc towards its intended target, "I'll at least get rid of Konoha's jin_—_"

"Hakke Kūshō! _(Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm)" _

It happened so quickly. An intense burst of pressure came whistling through the air and struck the Kumo shinobi before he even knew it, and he was literally sent soaring backwards until his body crashed into the bulk of the nearest tree in the area with a sickeningly loud noise. Hokori slid down the wood bonelessly a second later, like a puppet bereft of strings. A series of painful coughs from the now gasping shinobi was the only indication that he was still alive, but definitely in no condition to fight back anytime soon.

Still shocked from the close call, Naruto watched as a tall figure with the same white eyes Hinata possessed _shunshin_-ed into view, his right arm extended and palm facing outward. The man's long black hair flowed smoothly in the gentle air current.

"That, is for kidnapping my daughter," Hyuga Hiashi stated frostily as he glared at the downed shinobi with cold fury in his eyes that promised a lot of pain. "Be grateful that Hokage-sama requires you to be captured alive, or I would've killed you immediately for your foolishness."

_'Daughter..? Then.. then that guy with white eyes... must be Hinata's Tou-chan..' _Naruto could feel relief flooding inside him despite his heaving breaths; his worry about this man being another enemy quickly melted away as he processed that statement. '_Sandaime-Jiji.. must have somehow found out about this place... Thank.. goodness..'_

More footsteps were heard approaching the area quickly, some of them belonging to a troop of masked Konoha Anbu and others he could not recognize. Naruto fought hard to stay conscious, but it was proving difficult. He vaguely heard several urgent cries of what sounded like "Medic!" towards his direction, but before he could observe the scene any longer, his vision began to sway and darken around the edges as the shapes before him became increasingly blurry by each passing second. It would seem exhaustion had finally taken its toll, as the encroaching dizziness consumed Naruto's mind... and everything went black.

* * *

_**Some distance way, in the Konoha Forest…**_

Unbeknownst to all of them in the scene, another mysterious individual was observing the entire fight from afar though his pair of round, curious yellow eyes. This.. person with short, grass-green hair looked most unusual from a first sight's glance, with a pair of large, darker green venus flytrap-like extensions that enveloped his entire upper body, opening just wide enough for anyone to see his head.

His uniqueness did not end there, however, as his skin showed an even split of differently colored halves; the left half was completely white, while the other half was a contrasting pitch black with only his yellow iris being the only thing visible, but the most disturbing part about this individual was that the two halves seemed to be _conversing_ with each other.

"My... I must admit, that was pretty interesting," the white half said with an amused, laid-back tone, "And it seems that we have identified the last of the _jinchūriki_, too. Never thought he'd be someone as young as the Ichibi's container."

"**It would seem that way**," his other black half spoke in return without even moving his lips, in a throaty, no-nonsense voice which made his mysterious aura to stand out even more – a complete opposite of his other half. "**We must notify **_**him**_** of this development.**"

"Yeah, let's go. And hopefully we can find something to eat along the way, too."

Without making any noise at all, the massive jaw-like extensions snapped shut around the person's head and upper body completely, and he began sinking into the very tree he was observing from. The whole process only took no more than a few seconds, and he was gone from view, leaving behind absolutely no traces that there had been anyone in the area a moment ago.

* * *

Breathing.

Naruto could hear faint noises of someone breathing gently beside him, but he could not identify who it was at the moment. Wait, or maybe he was just imagining things? The boy was not sure. The acrid smell of something akin to antiseptics and other wound disinfectants assaulted his nostrils.

Slowly, our favourite blond regained his consciousness.

_'Mmngh... unh.. my head..'_

A splitting headache was the first thing he became aware of, one which made him feel as if his brain were trying to burst out of his skull. On top of that, his body, particularly his back was aching uncomfortably. Ignoring the sore feeling as best as he could, Naruto gulped down his saliva to at least moist his dry throat, and he was thankful as the headache slowly left him.

With sluggish effort, blue eyes fluttered themselves open, but their owner immediately regretted the action as the world started to spin in a sudden wave of vertigo. '_Slowly…' _The ten-year-old mentally told himself as closed his eyes, before gradually opening them again when he was ready. Naruto squinted woozily against the sudden brightness that assaulted his vision, but as he did, the foggy images before him began to get clearer and sharper.

White. And lot of white.

_'..W..Where ...?'_

A spotless white ceiling was the first thing that greeted his eyes, and he was lying with his back on something similarly white but warm and soft and squishy _—_ a bed, he quickly realized, but definitely not his. Naruto had to fight down a moment of panic as he made a fast look down at himself, taking note that he was bare from his waist up, and was clothed in only a pair of disposable shorts at the moment. A loose feeling around his toes, wrists and ankles told him he was most likely bare of any footwear as well, and that his training weights had been stripped off him, too, probably placed somewhere in the room.

Bandages swathed around his forehead, the same white material also covering most of his chest and extending around his upper back. A sticky sensation made Naruto realize the presence of a square medical gauze on one of his cheeks, with band-aids taping securely over the material in a crisscross fashion. More of them were littering some areas of his arms as well as his knees underneath the blanket, which again, were pure white in color.

Tilting his head slowly and as best as he could from his position, Naruto glanced about with slight difficulty, taking in more details of his surroundings.

Everything else was either the same boring shade of white or gray; the white curtain was open to reveal that it was still bright outside, and he could faintly make out the sounds of birds fluttering beyond the window. Off to his right was a small nightstand with an even smaller white vase set on top of it, filled with what he could see as purple lilac flowers. Naruto was no floral expert himself, but they were beautiful. And beside the table, sitting on a wooden stool next to his bandage-clad form was… a person?

It was an indigo-haired girl, and she was someone he knew quite well. She looked worried and slightly tired, her white eyes seemingly out of focus and she did not react when he looked at her.

_'She must have been here for quite a while.'_ Naruto concluded, a warm feeling engulfing his chest. It was nice to know that someone was actually there for him.

Said girl was still garbed in her same clothing, with parts of the once clean fabric still slightly streaked with dirt. Naruto's cerulean orbs widened in remembrance as memories came rushing back to his mind; he remembered he was training, how he had found this girl all tied up behind the bush, how he had fought tooth and nail with the jounin from Kumo, the fuzzy memory about a strange red chakra, the arrival of help, and then... and then... He grimaced as the pounding headache began to came back. He could not remember anything else.

"Hi…a…ta...?" Naruto croaked weakly. His voice was still hoarse and barely audible from disuse, but it was enough. It had jolted the Hyuga heiress out from whatever she was thinking, as she bolted up from her seat and looked at his bandage clad form, her expression a mixture of surprise and relief.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata gasped, and she was quickly by the boy's side. "You're awake!"

"Wh.. whe..re.. m… how…o..ng…" Naruto tried to continue speaking, but without much success as his throat chose this moment to go into a coughing fit. Noticing this, Hinata quickly filled an empty glass with drinking water from a canteen, before carefully helping the blond-haired boy to a sitting position against the backboard of his bed. She felt a pang of guilt when Naruto winced, the extra effort pulling on his wounds.

"You're in the Konoha Hospital, Naruto-kun. And you've been u-unconscious for almost five hours," Hinata informed him, holding the cool glass near to his mouth. "Here, h-have some water, it'll help."

_'Five hours? I've been out for that long?'_ Naruto asked himself the question as he took a small sip, swallowing eagerly as the wonderfully cool liquid cleared his throat and refreshed him somewhat. He turned and gave Hinata a weak grin he could manage at the moment, "Thanks..." Then, his demeanor morphed into one of genuine relief, matching the Hyuga heiress' as she put the glass away. "Hinata.. I'm so glad you're okay. Thank goodness..."

Hinata's eyes widened at Naruto's words. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out; the boy had thrown himself in harm's way to protect her and gotten himself all banged up, yet he was still more concerned on her well-being rather than his own? He had just woken up just barely a minute ago, for goodness sake.

Feeling her tears were threatening to spill forth, what Hinata did next in the next second was something she never believed she had the courage to do.

Naruto's eyes widened exponentially in surprise when Hinata suddenly leaned forward, the girl embracing him in a tight hug… and sobbing openly onto his uninjured left shoulder. The blond felt his breath stopped short inside his chest as he flinched slightly at the sudden motion, but otherwise he did not move.

_'Eh? What? What?'_ Naruto began to panic as her tears fell silently and splattered onto his bandages. Several emotions began to swirl in the boy's mind. Although his wounded back protested as she hugged him, Naruto was simply too concerned about his friend to care.

"Wha- H-Hinata? I- Y-You- why?" the blond-haired boy blurted frantically, confusion evident in his facial features. He looked totally clueless on why Hinata had reacted in such a manner. '_Was it something I said?_' He wondered, a sense of worry worming through his insides. Unbeknownst to Naruto himself, his heart rate was quickening and he was feeling quite warm in the cheeks from the sudden close contact, unfamiliar with the new feeling. "W-Why are you crying? You didn't get hurt or anything, right? Right?"

Instead of calming her, his words ended up having the opposite effect. Hinata only sobbed louder, and Naruto took it as something else as his expression grew increasingly panicked by the second._ 'Wha..What should I say or do?'_ In the end, the blond quickly settled on the first thing that popped into his mind at the moment. "I-I know! That bad ninja must have said something mean to you. Wait till I get my hands on h-"

"That's not it!" Hinata nearly shouted, and Naruto was once again taken aback for the second time as she released the hug, her tear-streaked, pale white eyes looking directly into his blue ones. Then her voice softened, almost to a murmur, but it only lasted for her first sentence before her now trembling voice slowly picked up in volume again.

"That's.. not it. I..I may be all r-right since I was needed alive, but Naruto-kun, what about _you_? The shinobi was a j-jounin! You could've d-died! And… and yet, you put yourself into danger for me, and now you're still worried about me even when it was all because of me that you got hurt in the f-first place!"

There was a few seconds of ensuing silence. Naruto could only stare with his mouth agape as he processed the lengthy speech. _'Hinata.. she.. she's crying because I got hurt?' _

On the other end, Hinata looked absolutely horrified upon realizing what she had just done. She… She was nearly yelling at Naruto! And now she was fairly certain he would be angry at her. Head ducking down and raising her index fingers to twiddle in her embarrassment, Hinata decided to quickly apologize, hoping that would not ruin their friendship in any way.

"I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean t-"

"Hehe… don't you worry about it," Naruto smiled brightly at her, not at all affected by her outburst. He looked into Hinata's unbelieving white eyes, and grinned, "For my precious people.. I'll always try my hardest to keep them safe, no matter what. And I won't die before I make everyone in this village acknowledge me! You can count on it!"

"I-I.." Hinata found herself at a loss of words, and her next sentence came up barely in a whisper as sobs once again racked her voice as she embraced the blond for the second time in the day, harder this time and once again surprising the the boy and even herself. "Thank you.. .. for e-everything… Thank you.."

_'Next time.. Naruto-kun..' _She told herself._ 'Next time, I'll be the one protecting you. I promise.'_

"That's… that's a little too tight, Hinata. Ackk! Ow!" Naruto made a face due to the pain, though he still managed a sheepish grin as Hinata quickly, but gently released her hug, her face a shade of red as she wiped away her tears.

"S-Sorry!"

"Ahem."

Both Naruto and Hinata turned to the door as a new presence, no, actually _two_ new presences decided to make themselves known. Hinata's already flushed face from hugging the blond earlier turned beet red as she realized who had decided to come in for a visit, hoping they had not seen her little act.

From the looks of it, it would seem they had not.

"Hokage-sama, O-Otou-sama," Hinata greeted politely as the duo nodded in equal politeness in return and made their way towards her and the blond-haired boy, getting themselves seated on the empty stools nearby. Naruto quickly noticed the wizened Sandaime, of course, as the ever flowing, white Hokage robe and hat with the character of 'Fire' on it were not easy for anyone's to miss by.

The other man, however, Naruto could only recognize him from memory. Clothed in traditional, loose-fitting white gi with a brown haori draped over his sloping shoulders, this man was exactly the same person who had come to his rescue few hours prior, with his smooth, long black hair and of course, the signature white eyes that all Hyuga clan members seemed to posses. Unlike the Hokage, Hiashi wore a stoic expression, outwardly projecting an air of seriousness around him which unnerved Naruto somewhat.

"Sandaime-jiji…. Hinata's Tou-chan," Naruto was never too familiar with formalities, but nevertheless he decided to be polite, as he tried to at least give a light bow. The sudden movement only caused more pain to his still stiff neck, evident when his face contorted into a grimace. Though it lasted only for a split second, that did not go unseen by the other three occupants in the small room as they immediately looked at him in concern.

"Be at ease, Uzumaki-san. There's no need for such formalities," the man's stoic-looking expression softened somewhat. Inwardly, he was still surprised at how casually Naruto addressed their village leader, if his unconsciously raised eyebrows as he studied the boy were any indication. "And as you have known, I am Hinata's father, Hyuga Hiashi. But more importantly, how are you feeling?"

"Well… I, um.. I'm okay, I guess," Naruto was still taken aback by the formal calling of his name, and was unsure of how to answer such a simple question. "My back still hurts a little, but that aside, I'm pretty much fine."

Hiashi nodded curtly. The man turned to the Hokage, receiving a nod from the aged shinobi as well, as he return his attention to Naruto. From what Naruto could tell, both of the adults in the room had something to say to him, but the Sandaime was allowing Hiashi to speak up first. For the slightest moment, the blond boy wondered how the two of them realized he was up, but decided to wave away the thought; probably some medic who happened to walk pass his room saw it and informed the rest of them.

"Uzumaki-san, there is something I wish to tell you myself," the elder Hyuga paused for a moment, and Naruto really began to get all nervous from the formal tone. His mind began to think of all the possible things that Hinata's father might say, from being angry at him for being friends with Hinata and many other crazy thoughts. Nevertheless, he had no choice but to listen to what the clan head had to say. Naruto swallowed hard, and nodded as best as his current condition could allow.

What he heard and saw next was something he had never expected from a clan head like Hyuga Hiashi.

"Thank you, for protecting my daughter," Hiashi stood up, looked into his eyes, and promptly bowed._ Deeply_.

Naruto, for his part, could only gape, in a rather comical way too with his eyes widening into perfect discs of astonishment; the Hyuga, one of the most powerful clan in Konoha, and its clan head no less, was actually _bowing_ at him. The Sandaime could barely hold back a chuckle as he looked at Naruto's reaction – it brought back a wave of nostalgia, as the wizened shinobi remembered it was the exact same reaction shown to him by a certain blond-haired Hokage when he first appointed him to take his place.

"From today onward, the entire of Hyuga clan is forever in your debt."

Naruto did not reply, no, he did not know _how_ to reply. Hinata, he noticed, was shocked as well; it had been ages since she had seen his father bowing to anyone except the Hokage. Naruto must have really gained his respect. Speaking of who, the blond-haired boy's mouth moved, trying in vain to form words. It was only a few seconds later that he found his voice back, as he blurted what he had in mind. "B-But I didn't beat him! I-I.. well.. you did," he finished lamely.

"That may be so," was Hiashi's calm response, as he once again looked at him with a more… well, casual expression by a Hyuga's standard or course, "But had you not been there by Hinata's side at that time, the kidnapping would have probably been a success, I'm afraid."

_'Huh?'_ Naruto was definitely confused now, and seeing his puzzled look, the Hyuga clan head decided to elaborate further. "The shinobi you fought against, Uzumaki-san, had a few of his accomplices hiding around Konoha to monitor our reactions and secure a safe route out of Konoha's walls in the midst of chaos. With the help of the Sandaime-sama himself, the Anbu as well as some of our Aburame and Inuzuka comrades, we were able to track down and subdue them."

Naruto only nodded in silence as he digested the gist of the information, and Hiashi took this as a sign to continue. "Now, had you not been there and stalled the Kumo-nin long enough, the fool would've definitely suspected something was wrong when none of his accomplices were coming, and then tried to escape with Hinata on his own. For preventing that, I once again thank you, Uzumaki-san."

Realization dawned upon Naruto's face as the gears in his mind began working. That… definitely made sense; he had been wondering quite a while why the Kumo-nin had not just grabbed Hinata and made a mad dash for it when he first spotted him, and instead choosing to stay for a fight with an academy student like him. Though, this only meant he was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time, but the compliment did make him flush in embarrassment when he felt warm from a surge of acknowledgement rising in his chest, however.

"Hehe.. you're welcome," Naruto could not help but grinned in response, the boy's ears turning slightly pink as he scratched his whisker-marked cheeks with an abashed expression in play. "And.. ah.. you can just call me Naruto."

"Very well. Then Uzu- no, Naruto-san, I have one question for you."

"Um... okay?" Naruto nodded slowly, not knowing of any other ways of responding.

And the question was asked out of the blue. "What.. do you think of my daughter Hinata?"

At this, several things happened simultaneously. The Sandaime raised an eyebrow in interest, Hinata.. well, she looked so red in the face that Naruto would have thought she was having a high fever, and Hiashi looked expectantly at the bandaged boy, his eyes studying him with untold amount of anticipation.

"Well…" Naruto began, his whiskered face looking thoughtful as he took time recalling about all the time he had known Hinata.

A smile slowly etched itself on his face as he remembered how they first made friends, and it only stretched wider when he thought of how she had helped him in the academy classes. Hinata looked even more nervous than before; she was about to fall unconscious any moment now. The boy flashed them a face-splitting grin as he finally got his answer ready.

"Hinata's.. well, she's a bit on the shy side, but is really kind, caring and always helps me out in my studies whenever I ask her. It's really lucky of me to have met her, she's a really, really great friend!"

Hinata blushed deeper at the compliments, though Naruto did not notice it as he was looking at Hiashi right now. The man nodded curtly at the boy's sincere reply, and a few seconds of silence stretched between the two before his lips contorted into something remotely resembling a small smile.

"I.. see. Well, that would be all I wanted to know for now. I believe Hokage-sama has something to talk to you about as well, so I'll be taking my leave," Hiashi saw the aged shinobi gave him a nod, and he stood up from his seat, turning to his daughter and gesturing her to follow. "Hinata, come. You need to rest as well. Once again, I thank you, Naruto-san."

Hinata nodded in response and followed after her father, but not before turning back and took a last glance at her blond friend. "G-get well soon, Naruto-kun."

"I will, thanks. And see ya in the academy tomorrow."

Hearing the door closed behind them, Naruto turned to his last visitor at the moment.

The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen made doubly sure that they were the only ones left, before making rapid handseals which were too fast for Naruto's still inexperienced eyes to follow, and when the elderly man was done, Naruto could feel a thin pulse of chakra enshrouding the entire room.

"Jiji?" Naruto prompted, confusion evident on his features. He tensed slightly. '_What's... going on?'_

"I've activated the privacy seals in this room," the aged leader said. Earlier before he entered the room with Hiashi, he had stationed two of his personal Anbu guards outside the room to prevent anyone from interrupting their conservation here, and hopefully stop the villagers before they would think of anymore of their foolish schemes to get the boy while he was vulnerable. "Now no one outside would be able to hear us."

Naruto only nodded, as he only knew so little about sealing arts. If the Sandaime was this serious in preserving privacy around them, what he was going to tell him next must be something pretty big. He swallowed nervously and glanced about, before looking at his grandfather-esque figure. "Am... am I in trouble?"

Hiruzen lifted an amused eyebrow, having not expected anything like that.

"No, not in the slightest, Naruto. I've heard the general story from young Hinata," he chuckled, noticing Naruto's troubled look and decided to lighten the mood at least for a bit, the proud smile never leaving his lips. Then, his aged expression morphed into one of curiosity. "But can you, pray tell me what you were doing at Training Ground Two that early in the morning?"

"I was.. doing some training by myself," Naruto decided to go with the straightforward version of truth, but he chose not to disclose what kinds of training he was doing. Parts of him felt somewhat guilty hiding away the fact that he was practicing his water ninjutsu in secret before he even graduated as a Genin from the academy. Though, that thought reminded him that he had totally forgotten about his _Suiton_ jutsu in the heat of his first and most recent fight against a real shinobi.

"But then, I thought I heard some really strange noise outside the field, so I went to check it out. And that's how I found Hinata."

There was a short silence as Hiruzen regarded the boy's words.

"I see," was his curt reply, his wizened smile still present on his facial features. "So that's what happened."

Years of experience told Hiruzen that the blond was being honest even if he was leaving something out about his training, so he did not attempt to prod any further on the matter. After all, it was totally understandable for a shinobi, or in Naruto's case, a future shinobi to keep his training details to himself as long as he did not place his comrades or the village in danger. And considering Naruto's nature, the blond would do anything but those.

There was something else tugging on the aged Hokage's mind, anyway. Something more urgent. Something that he really needed to find out so he could help Naruto, whom he had treated like his own grandson all this while. The Sandaime's face grew genuinely concerned as he continued, "Naruto, there's another thing that I need you to tell me. And please, tell me exactly what you know. Can you do that?"

Naruto swallowed as he mentally went back to his recent fight in his mind. It did not take him long to make a pretty good guess on where the current conversation was heading. At this, Naruto's small smile faded, as his gentle blue hues looked worriedly into those of the older man.

"It's…..got something to do about the red chakra, right?"

The Sandaime nodded, his expression turned oddly solemn.

* * *

**~End chapter 2~**

_And that's about Chapter 2! For those of you who does not follow the manga or anime series and have no idea what jinchūriki means, I will reveal in the next chapter, so no worries. But I really sucked at the fight scenes! *grumbles. Sorry if it was boring._

_For your information, Raita Hokori was an original character of my own imagination, and Hokori in Japanese has something to do with the feeling of proud if I'm not mistaken, seeing as many of Kumo characters in the series are named after feelings, For eg, Darui (dull), Samui (cold), Atsui (hot), so I just wanted to make my one.. fits, you know what I mean? Haha, and poor Hokori too, thought I think he kinda deserved the beating, what do you guys think? XD_

_Like always, please take some time to review if you can. I really need some feedbacks so I know how you readers find this fic so far and where I should focus more on improving. Thank you._


	3. Chapter 3 Just Watch Me

**_Some Words from the Author:_**

_How are you guys doing? Well, here comes Chapter Three! Sit back, relax, and enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter Three - Just Watch Me**

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage sighed inwardly as he took in the worried expression of the boy he considered as his second grandson. Such a look did not suit him at all. The village leader knew the day would come when he had to reveal the secret to Naruto; it was bound to happen at some point, but this was much earlier than he had anticipated. Though, before he would start spilling the beans, Hiruzen decided he still had a question for him.

"Naruto," he began, gaining the blond's attention as he turned his blue eyes to him, "Can you tell me exactly what happened back then, when you started seeing this red chakra around you?"

Naruto's eyes lost their glimmer again as he inwardly faltered at the question; he did not quite know how to set about telling his grandfather figure, but he knew he was only trying to help. Inhaling deeply, the boy began digging through his memory, and tried explaining as best as he could.

"Hinata.. uhm, I mean… when the bad ninja said he was trying to hurt Hinata, I.. I got angry, so angry I just wanted to beat him up real badly…" the blue-eyed boy started out in a little more than a whisper as he took another deep breath, slowly recalling the rest of the fight as he did so. "And then… then.. I.."

Naruto winced and subconsciously pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling the pounding headache return as he tried searching deeper into his memories for more details.

"Easy now, don't push yourself too hard. Take as long as you need," the Sandaime cautioned, his wizened facial features softened in understanding. Naruto was still recovering, after all. Casting the boy a concerned look, he further offered, "Or perhaps you want to tell me when you feel better?"

"No, it's okay... I want to keep going," Naruto shook his head lightly, feeling he should really get this off his chest. A part of him really wanted to know more behind the red chakra, and somehow he could tell that the Sandaime might know something about it. Steeling himself, Naruto continued, nervousness lacing his voice. "And then… I felt something inside me just… _snapped_."

Hiruzen felt the creases on his forehead tightened, but nevertheless gave a slight inclination of his head at Naruto's explanation so far. The ten-year-old took this as a sign to keep going.

"...I felt so strong, it's like I could take on anything back then. And.. and I only got angrier when I got my hands on him, even after I lashed out with everything I had," Naruto's gaze fell onto his now fisted hands which were clenching the bedsheet a little too tightly, his tone sinking to a near whisper as he continued. "But what's worse-" He cut himself off and breathed in deeply, "A part of me felt like.. like I was actually e-enjoying that bad chakra. I..I…"

Naruto was visibly shaking now, and Hiruzen knew this feeling well. Fear. The boy was afraid of his own power, not knowing what it was. The aged shinobi fixed Naruto another understanding look, and feeling more concerned for Naruto's mental health, he placed a comforting hand on the boy's blond spikes which seemingly calmed him downed a little. "That's quite all right, Naruto. You don't have to say any-"

"It's not all right! It's _not!_ I almost k-kill someone without even knowing it myself! Back then, if I hadn't stopped in time, I could've… I _would've_.…" Naruto interjected heatedly, his breath now coming in short gasps as he looked at his still shaking hands with his face downcast, obviously sickened with the mere thought of it. "That's just... wrong."

A small breath of silence swept between the two of them, but Naruto shattered it after a couple of seconds.

"Jiji… What if… what if the villagers have been right all along?" he winced and turned away sadly, desperately biting down the rising feeling of fear threatening to bubble forth. Naruto's eyes seemed to cloud over with countless bad memories when he was younger, his tongue feeling thick and numb as he forced out the next part, "What if I'm really a mons-"

"Naruto!"

The boy's head snapped up to face the Hokage almost involuntarily, his expression wearing a mixture of surprise and fear. Surprise that his grandfather figure was raising his voice, and fear when he felt a tiny hint of anger as well as hurt in it. Naruto did not know what to make out of it. '_Jiji.. has never been this mad with me before…'_

Realizing this himself, the Sandaime quickly schooled his expression back to his usual serene look, inwardly scolding himself for almost losing his temper. Naruto was still only ten years old, he reminded himself, but it almost broke his heart to hear the boy tagging himself with that word. Though, that did not mean he was all right with how the villagers were treating the boy.

"Listen to me, Naruto," Hiruzen said softly, lowering his voice. He felt himself softened further as he looked at the blond, who was now slowly calming down and looking a tad timidly back at him. "You are _not_, and will _never_ be anything close to a monster. You are Uzumaki Naruto, a future shinobi of Konoha who proudly bears the Will of Fire. Always remember that."

"Jiji.. I..." Naruto left his words hanging. The blond could feel his eyes getting slightly moist now at the uplifting words, and a small smile stretched on his lips. In hindsight, a look akin to regret flashed upon his face; he felt so bad about doubting himself just then. Quickly wiping away the dampness, he smiled wider. "I'm so sorry for earlier... Thanks."

"Good," Hiruzen nodded approvingly, seeming pleased that Naruto was back to his usual self. There was never a better time to tell him the truth than right now - knowing Naruto's nature, the boy would definitely try to figure it out on his own even if he decided to continue keeping him in the dark, and it would hurt a lot worse when the blond eventually did. Hiruzen wanted none of that to happen. So, coming to a decision, the Sandaime went on, "I now deem you ready to hear what I'm going to tell you next, and I hope you'll forgive this foolish old man for hiding the truth from you all this while."

"The... truth?" Naruto's blue eyes looked at the aged shinobi, his blond eyebrows rose in confusion. Somehow, he felt a strange feeling of unease churning in his stomach. "Wait, so you mean.. there's actually more about this red chakra?"

"I'm afraid that's the case. But before that, please tell me, what… do you know about the tailed beast, _Kyuubi no Youko_?"

"Umm..." The blond blinked quizzically at the question, but nevertheless recited what he had read before from one of his academy textbooks. "The Kyuubi attacked Konoha ten years ago, but the Yondaime killed it, right? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Naruto, I'm afraid what you read from books is just a cover-up of what really happened," the village leader glanced remorsefully at the boy, who now looked even more confused than before. Well, that was to be expected. Making sure Naruto's attention was still glued on him, Hiruzen continued.

"The _Kyuubi_, in fact is a huge mass of pure living chakra, and can never be killed." Naruto's eyes widened, but Hiruzen went on. "Even if it is somehow miraculously destroyed, it will just reform over and over again, maybe in days, months or even years, no one knows. But before I move on…"

Naruto looked more and more curious as he listened, but was surprised when Hiruzen rummaged his Hokage robe and took out a transparent bottle of drinking water and held it in front of him. '_Wait, what? Why a bottle?'_ Blond eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Naruto took in the clear water container, which was absolutely nothing out of ordinary. Before he could ponder any longer, though, the wizened voice of the Hokage brought his attention back to him.

"Well now, Naruto. Tell me, what do you see?"

Naruto took a few seconds to take a closer scruntiny at the object of interest, but no matter how he tried to spot something special about it, there was none. He frowned slightly, his eyes giving the bottle one final look before craning back up to the kage-level shinobi.

"Uh.. A bottle... with water inside?" Naruto answered slowly, as if trying to find a hidden meaning behind what he could see, but failed to see any. At his answer, the Sandaime smiled warmly.

"That's correct," the Hokage nodded affirmatively. Naruto felt his eyebrows arched up in a show of puzzlement, the boy looking numbly surprised. '_Wait, that's really the answer?_"

"Now, another question. Since the water is obviously inside the bottle… does the bottle become the water?"

"Wha? Of course not," Naruto replied based on pure logic, unable to think of any other answers. "It just keeps the water from spilling out." The questions had just become weirder and weirder, to a point which the boy started wondering whether the Hokage had gone crazy or something. And what was getting him even more confused was that the Hokage smiled even wider at his reply.

"Very good. Now keep that in mind while listening to what I'm about to tell you next," Hiruzen allowed himself to heave a heavy sigh. "As I was saying, a powerful _bijuu_ like the _Kyuubi_ cannot be killed, and therefore the Yondaime had no choice but to resort to another method…"

A strange feeling of unease began to bubble within Naruto's thoughts, but still, his curiosity to know the truth got the better of him. He swallowed nervously. "Another… method? Jiji, what did the Yondaime do?"

The Sandaime took a deep breath; it would be hard to break it to Naruto. '_Here comes the tricky part._' He told himself.

"The only other option, was to seal the Kyuubi away. While you might think the Yondaime could imprison the fox into inanimate objects, they are not powerful enough to contain its immense power," Hiruzen explained, looking at Naruto who was fully focused on his words. The blond did not know why exactly, but he had a bad feeling about this. And he only felt worse as the seconds ticked by.

"And so, the Yondaime's only solution was to seal the Kyuubi into a living person, but not just any person, as he must still have undeveloped chakra coils in order to adapt to the fox's chakra as he grows….. In other words, the _Kyuubi no Youko _was sealed into newborn baby during that night."

Naruto latched onto that last part as he repeated the new information in his head, and it did not take him long to connect the dots together. Exactly ten years ago, on October tenth was the day he was born.. so if the Kyuubi's assault on Konoha as well as its sealing happened on that very same day, that would only mean...

The boy's initial uneasiness gave way to a sudden rising feeling of shock, the cruel realization hitting him like a solid punch to the gut.

'_N...No.. no way.. Please tell me this isn't true_.' A small part inside him pleaded futilely, his eyes now wide and breathing heavy. Chills ran down his spine. This had to be some kind of mistake... or a very bad joke. Swallowing hard and a sharp intake of breath later, Naruto made a guess that he most certainly knew the answer.

"And that baby… was m-me?" Naruto unconsciously rested a hand over the smooth expanse of his stomach, which was free from any bandages. Even with all the energy he normally had, the ten-year-old couldn't seem to muster much over a whisper for his next sentence, "So I'm the container for the Kyuubi?"

Almost painfully, Hiruzen nodded, his eyes shadowed in shame as he waited for Naruto's outburst which he was so sure would be coming. For all his prowess in the shinobi world, there was nothing the professor could do, except hoping for the best right now... and fearing for the worst.

"For what it's worth, Naruto, I'm sorry."

Naruto's world became completely quiet. It suddenly became so hard to breathe - the boy felt his heart clenched, and inside his head, a tempest of emotions was whirling as the information sunk in. So many little things suddenly made perfect sense now; the name calling, the hateful glares, the villagers' refusal to sell him any daily needs, the beatings, and everything. They all twisted and came together in a sickening realization. It felt as if the big puzzle that had always been bothering him was finally complete, the pieces now slowly falling into place to reveal the ugly truth.

'_So they know._' His heart began pounding underneath his heaving chest, which felt a lot tighter than it was moments ago. Naruto gritted his teeth as he looked at his stomach, which started to churn in an unpleasant way. '_They all know. Except for me._'

For the slightest moment, something inside Naruto wanted to get angry, to scream and yell at the old man for keeping something this big away from him all this while, but no matter how much he wanted to, he just ... he just couldn't find it in his heart to do that, not to the first person to ever acknowledge his existence.. to ever see him as a person. Thankfully, the negative emotion abated as quickly as it came. Naruto was silent for a long time, and taking a few calming breaths, he was deep in his thoughts. Getting himself all angry and tensed up would not change a thing.

After a few more seconds of silence, however, Naruto still did not make a sound, and Hiruzen was starting to get worried. The blond's head was lowered, his spiky hair casting shadows over his face, hiding his expression. The only shows of emotions were his trembling fists from earlier, both of which were now unclenched and hanging limply at his sides. A knot in the Hokage's stomach tightened as he almost regretted his decision, wondering if it was too much shock for the boy to handle at his current state of mind.

"Naruto?" there was a heavy stillness in the air as he waited for the boy's response. After another small stretch of tense silence, said boy sucked in a long, trembling breath of air, before slowly releasing it and spoke quietly.

"…Why.. me?" Naruto mumbled, his voice almost quivering and dropping in volume after every word. "Why did something like this... h-have to happen to me? What did I... what did I ever do?"

Surprisingly, there was no anger, no hate in his voice. Rather, it was mostly out of painful curiosity. Watching Naruto's expression with a heavy heart, Hiruzen's gears began to work at their full speed inside his head; he had known this question would be coming, as he began forming an explanation that would not reveal what was not supposed to be revealed yet, particularly the boy's relation with the Yondaime. Naruto was still young, and Hiruzen was worried for the boy's safety.

"The Yondaime believed only you will be able to use this power," Hiruzen told the truth, his hand reaching over and ruffled Naruto's spiky hair affectionately. "He wanted you to use it to protect your precious people, like what you did back then."

Cerulean eyes widened with disbelief, and it was a full second before Naruto spoke again.

"The Yondaime… believed in me?" Naruto voice did not hide his surprise, as he looked up at the aged Hokage with silent hope on his face. His idol, the most powerful Kage in the history at that time, the legendary _Kiiroi Senkō_, believed in him? Him, a random orphan? It was too good to be true. The boy almost mumbled as his blue eyes bore skeptically onto the older man's dark brown ones. "Really... really?"

A confident nod was the reply. Naruto gazed at the man a little longer. There was nothing at all on his wizened face that suggested he was lying. Nothing at all. Somehow, Naruto felt a warm feeling rose in his chest and engulfed his entire being, and slowly, he allowed a faint smile to spread across his lips.

"Naruto," the Sandaime took a soft, daring breath before asking, "Do you hate him, for what he chose to do?"

"I..well… I don't know. I mean.. it's all so confusing and..um.." Naruto spoke from his heart after a few contemplative seconds, but he allowed his smile to stretch into a small grin. Drawing a breath, he grinned a tad wider, "But now, I think… I think I can understand, somehow…. Thanks for telling me all this, Jiji. It really clears things up."

"Naruto…" Hiruzen found himself smiling as well, as he placed his hands on the boy's shoulders to offer whatever comfort he could. Naruto was so mature for his age, and it thoroughly surprised the aged Hokage that the boy took the truth far better than he thought he would. Part of him was still angry at himself that he had kept Naruto in the dark all this while, but the other part of him, though, felt so proud at his surrogate grandson right now.

Naruto had his heart in the right place, after all. Truly one who had inherited the Yondaime's Will of Fire._ 'Minato.. Kushina.. If only you could see him right now...'_

"Whatever the others may say about you, you'll always be a hero for holding the Kyuubi at bay. I'm sure, one day, they'll view you in a different light."

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a full minute, with Naruto deep in his thoughts and Hiruzen giving the boy all the time he needed to sort things out. After all, it was a lot to be taken in, now that he found out there was a giant fox stuck in his gut for life. After a while, Naruto decided to break the silence by calling out for Hiruzen's attention again.

"Jiji, Are there others….. who are like me?"

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow in response, as he did not quite expect such a question. Though, he decided it would bring no harm to answer this one. If anything, knowing the answer would definitely make Naruto feel a tad better about his predicament. The boy needed reassurance right now.

"Yes, there are," the Sandaime answered honestly, watching as Naruto looked at him with an expression akin to surprise. "In fact, there are eight other individuals somewhere in this world who shoulder the same special burden like you." He added with a bitter tone, "And these individuals are widely known as _jinchūriki_, the power of human sacrifice."

"_Jin_… _chū__…__riki__..?__" _Naruto tested the word on his tongue. The meaning of the word really did held a certain amount of bitterness behind it, but it was just a way of referring to unique people like him, so he decided not to put too much thought into it.

"That aside, please understand that whatever we have discussed about Kyuubi is considered as a SS-rank secret, and only you are allowed to tell your friends or anyone else freely without any punishment," the Hokage's expression turned serious, and then concerned. "If the fox's chakra resurfaces again in future, do let me know as soon as you can."

"O..Okay, I'll keep that in mind," Naruto nodded in comprehension as he released a breath he did not realize he was holding. On the plus side, it would seem that only the adults in the village knew about his status as a_ jinchūriki_, but on the other, Naruto was not sure how and when he would tell his friends about his… condition. What would be their reactions when they find out? Would they..? Regardless, Naruto decided to let the thought slip for the time being.

Hiruzen sighed inwardly in relief, glad that he got the point across.

Deciding that would be all he wanted to tell the blond for now, the Sandaime rose up from his seat and did a simple seal, which immediately deactivated the privacy seals inside the room. He smiled warmly at the bandaged form of his grandson figure as he excused himself, "All right Naruto, I'm afraid I'll have to take my leave now." He added with a chuckle in an attempt to lighten the mood, "You know, all the paperwork isn't going to get any thinner anytime soon."

Naruto shared a good-natured chuckle at that statement too, remembering the towering stacks of paper which were even higher than the Hokage during one of his visits to the office, "Heheh, I guess I'll have to start thinking a way to defeat the paperwork before I take your hat, Jiji."

"And you will, I'm sure," the wizened shinobi gave him a knowing smile, glad that the boy had returned to his usual self as he made his way towards the door. Hiruzen let his eyes lingered a little longer on the blue-eyed boy, and added, "If you need anything, the Anbu I've stationed outside will be glad to help, just call for them. Rest well, my boy."

Watching as the Hokage closed the door behind him, Naruto slowly shifted himself back to a lying position on the hospital bed, thinking about the conversation earlier. Strangely enough, he did not feel as tired as he should be, and his mind seemed a lot clearer than before now that he knew about his tenant. He felt... relieved somehow.

Yes, it was still unfair of the villagers to treat him unjustly, but at least now he knew it was not because of something he did. He could finally put those haunting doubts to rest. It was as if a giant weight had been relieved from his chest.

With that, he allowed his eyelids to close themselves, as he settled for a well-deserved rest.

* * *

Back in his office, Hiruzen paused in his war against the unyielding mountain of paperwork and looked across his desk as the captain of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Squad, one Morino Ibiki walked in to meet him personally. The large, heavily scarred man was normally calm and collected, but judging from his expression right now, the Sandaime could tell something was definitely not right.

"Report, Ibiki," the aged leader urged, his tone serious.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," the bandanna-clad Tokubetsu Jounin gave a curt bow. Without another second wasted, he began, all businesslike, "During the interrogation, we were almost successful to get them talking, however.." He left his last word hanging, a telltale sign of bad news.

"However?" Hiruzen prompted urgently, raising an grim eyebrow._ 'Yes,_ d_efinitely bad news._' The slight hesitation in Ibiki's tone only further confirmed his suspicion. "What happened?"

"All four of them Kumo shinobi started convulsing as if they're being strangled by something, and promptly died a few seconds later."

A small lapse of silence swept over the office.

"….All four? At the same time?" the older man prompted, his eyes narrowed at the new information.

Ibiki nodded grimly. Hiruzen was quiet for another minute, allowing a contemplative look to flash across his wizened face as he stroke his goatee out of habit. This was too much of a mere coincidence.

'_Poison? A self-acting suicide seal? Or something else.._' The man known as the professor began thinking of the possible reasons, but they did not make much sense; last he checked, the Yondaime Raikage was never the sort of people to simply get rid of his subordinates. Though, he brought his attention back to the present as Ibiki began to speak once more.

"I already had Yamanaka Inoichi checked through their memories," the scarred interrogation specialist reached one gloved hand inside his black trench coat and fished out a single scroll, before placing it respectfully on the Hokage's desk. "And inside this scroll was all the information he had gathered. That is all I have to report, Hokage-sama."

"Thank you, Ibiki. Keep up the good work."

Watching as the giant of a man bowed and retreated from his office, Hiruzen picked up the scroll. Before he even opened it, he could feel a sense of foreboding in the air. The Sandaime swallowed the feeling, and skimmed through its content. And his dark brown eyes narrowed even further in alarm.

From what Inoichi gathered, the one who had ordered for Hyuga Hinata's abduction was indeed the Yondaime Raikage, Inazuma Roga, a formidable bloodline user of the _Jiton (Magnet Release)_. The Yamanaka pointed out that about two weeks ago, the Raikage started giving out secret orders to abduct promising bloodline wielders, his sole reason being to strengthen their country's military prowess. It was necessary, according to him, since some of their own clans' members were found to be mysteriously missing from their respective compounds, and they needed something to compensate their losses.

Also, from the fuzzy memory of the shinobi leading the kidnapping, it was noted that the Raikage only started acted this way after coming back from a meeting in a new village known as _Otogakure no Sato_, the Village Hidden in the Sound. Still, it did not explain the part where worried Hiruzen the most. '_How did the kidnappers bypass the security barrier surrounding the village?_'

Massaging his temples, Hiruzen rested his chin onto his interlocked fingers, eyes closed in deep thought as he let the new information sink in. He could not throw off his gut feeling that something suspicious was definitely going on between the lines. '_But what?_'

'_I'll need Jiraiya's help._' He thought grimly. Yes, summoning the greatest spymaster Konoha ever produced – one of the legendary Sannin – his student to dig some more information on this mysterious _Otogakure no Sato_ seemed to be a good way to start. And throughout his long life, Hiruzen had only known of one person who was so obsessed with studying powerful _kekkei genkai_. His eyes widened. _'It couldn't be..._'

Taking a slow, long breath of his favourite pipe, the revered leader allowed the taste of tobacco leaves to linger in his mouth a little longer, before releasing it with a deep sigh.

"I'm getting far too old for this."

* * *

_**Back to Naruto's hospital room…**_

Later in the evening, the blond woke up to discover another pleasant surprise. There was a large basket of fresh fruits on his bedside table, and standing against it was a folded card of sorts. Someone else must have visited him while he was still asleep, and the mere thought of it was enough to make him feel warm to the core. Though, he reminded himself not to get his hopes up too fast.

'_Are these … really for me?_' Naruto slowly sat up, his expression one of puzzlement and growing disbelief as he picked up the handmade card to give it a better look. Cerulean blue eyes were quickly drawn to a rough, but rather detailed sketch of a familiar grinning face in bright shades of colored pens on the cover, and that alone reassured him.

His face. It was definitely for him.

'_Hehe, must be Kiba's work._' Naruto found himself snickering as he studied the card a little longer, smiling despite the simplicity of it. Somehow, the boy told himself, the others must have caught wind of what had happened to him, but a part of him hoped that they did not hear the full story for obvious reasons. Shrugging away the thought, Naruto slowly flipped the card open, and was surprised to see differently-angled lines of messages, each in different handwritings. Holding it closer, he began to read it.

_Troublesome, get well soon._

The blond was already chuckling lightly as he read the first short message that caught his eyes, written in a stroke of laziness that he knew too well. '_Definitely Shikamaru's._' He continued to the next, this one looking neater than the first, but still familiar enough.

_How you feeling, Naruto? But don't worry, the fruits will do you good! Eat up!_

Naruto's smile got wider. '_Chouji's._'

Tilting the card slightly, the spiky-haired blond read on. The following one was in messy handwriting that literally resembled scribbles more than anything, with a small but familiar paw mark beside it in blue ink. Though, he could still make out the words after a few seconds.

_How do you like the super awesome picture in front? You better! Everyone, even Akamaru helped with it! Get well and bounce back soon or I'm gonna be the Hokage before you!_

'_Heh, thanks Kiba._' Naruto grinned, and he could feel something moist welling inside his eyes at this point. '_And you too, Akamaru._'

The message after Kiba's was written in a superbly neat handwriting that was unfamiliar to him, but he went to read it anyway.

_Naruto-san, I hereby wish that you get back to the best of health as soon as possible. Why do I say this? Because it is only logical for a friend to show his care to another._

His face scrunching slightly in thinking, Naruto wondered who had written the lengthy message, but he did not have even the slightest idea. Though, thankfully, this particular classmate was kind enough to leave his name a small space away from his message.

"Aburame... Shino," Naruto thought hard, repeating the name several times in his head, and memory suddenly sprang to mind as he remembered the silent boy who was always wearing a high collared jacket. "Oh!" That was definitely a surprise; Naruto did not expect a message from Shino. In fact, they hardly even talk to one another, so it was pretty astonishing to find that Shino of all people considered him a friend.

Silently promising he would get to know the bug user better when he returned to class, Naruto's blue eyes only went wider as he took in the last message in the card, which was still neat, but shorter than the rest except for Shikamaru's. Also, judging from the freshness of the ink, this one must have been added in much later, too, but it did not matter.

_Hn.._ Naruto had only read the first word, and failed miserably in stopping his eyes from twitching as he travelled to the next one in the line. The writer's identity was very obvious on this one.

_Recover soon, you dobe._

'_Gah! Why does he always have to call me that!_' the blond boy screamed almost childishly in his head a full second later, as he pulled at his blond spikes in a comical manner. Though, as he calmed down, his heartfelt grin was stretched even wider. It was hard to believe that the usually stoic Uchiha had actually bothered to leave him a message. '_But… thanks, Sasuke._'

Barely holding back a sniffle, a now misty-eyed Naruto set the card back to its original position, in a gingerly manner as if it would shatter into a million pieces if he were not gentle enough. It was natural for the boy to react this way; it was his very first get well card from his friends, after all, but most importantly, the mere fact that there were others who actually cared about him was worth more than anything he could think of.

Though, Naruto could not help but feel a little upset that he was still sleeping when his friends came to visit; he really could use some company. And as if to answer his wish at this precise moment, Naruto turned to the door in surprise as a gentle rap of a knuckle against wood caught his attention. He quickly wiped whatever dampness in his eyes away, wondering who the late visitor might be.

The comforting sight of a familiar, scarred chuunin poking his head behind the door quickly brought a wide grin back to Naruto's features. His eyes easily finding the blond in question, the man smiled warmly like he usually did, as he took an empty seat next to Naruto's bed. "Good to see you're awake, Naruto. How are you feeling? Are you still hurting anywhere?"

"I'm good, Iruka-sensei. Just a lil' stiff," the blond tilted his head slightly to get a better view of his academy teacher. Still clad in his standard Konoha chuunin outfit with the dark green flak jacket, his teacher was all cheery on the outside, but Naruto could easily pick out the worry and concern underlying his tone. The chuunin was obviously more worried than he was letting on, especially when he took in the tight bandages all around his student's body.

"I've heard from Sandaime-sama," Iruka said as he placed a hand on top of Naruto's wild spikes of hair, and ruffled them gently. Hearing that, Naruto felt his heart sink, his memory reminding him of the conversation with the Hokage as he looked down at his stomach.

"Naruto?" The chuunin was immediately concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Iruka-sensei.. you knew about_ it_ as well, right?"

The academy instructor did not take long to figure out what his student was hinting at, and he felt his heart skip a beat. _'How did Naruto..?' _He inwardly panicked for a moment, but then calmed down considerably._ 'That's right.. Sandaime-sama had told him the truth..'_ The blond's blue eyes were quiet and waiting, and looking into them, Iruka could not help but sigh deeply, before answering in an almost guilty tone, "Yeah, I knew since the very beginning…. But I couldn't tell you back then. I'm so sorry."

"...then why?" Naruto pressed, feeling a sudden urge to find out. The whole situation was so confusing and it was giving him a headache. He lowered his voice, "I mean, you're always nice to me and all… but _why_?"

"And why not?" Iruka allowed himself a slight pause, smiling lightly as Naruto opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking. The blond could not give any answer to the question; obviously, it had never crossed his mind before. Why not indeed? Watching as Naruto gazed cluelessly back at him for answers, the man nodded.

"Naruto, you've always been a really good student…" he seemed to pause for a moment for the effect, before adding, "...and you know what? I always think of you as a little brother I never had," the teacher gave a sincere grin at Naruto's widened eyes, obviously in surprise. The chuunin had always reminded Naruto of what an older brother would be like, but to hear the man admitted this himself made him happy. So happy. In the next moment, Iruka placed his hand gently on top of the boy's stomach. "Listen, what's inside here is not important, but rather.."

Naruto's eyes followed as his teacher's hand moved upwards, patting the area over his heart lightly to emphasize his point. "It's about what's in here that really counts."

A second or two passed, and seeing an understanding smile slowly rose on Naruto's lips, Iruka returned in kind, before he continued, "As I was saying earlier, I've been told what happened to you and Hinata this morning. And I must say, you've made me a very proud teacher, Naruto."

"Ehe he.. thanks," Naruto scratched his uninjured cheek bashfully out of habit, trying hard and failing to fight down the blush creeping over his face at the compliment. He was still unused to receiving praises from others. '_Iruka-sensei's smile... it's always so warm and kind.._' A moment later, Naruto had the decency to look sincerely apologetic, allowing a sheepish grin to spread across his lips. "And I, uh.. I'm sorry..."

"Hm? What're you sorry for?"

"Sorry... if I made you worry, Iruka-sensei," Naruto finished, and his teacher mouthed an 'oh' in understanding.

"You have no idea. When I heard you were hospitalized, I was worried sick," Iruka said earnestly. In all honesty, when Naruto did not show up in class that morning, Iruka initially thought the blond had gotten ill or something. The chuunin was on his way to Naruto's apartment for a quick check right after the class ended at noon, so imagine his confusion when he was suddenly summoned to the Hokage's office by a bird-masked Anbu, and later his abject horror when he was told the news. It was only after Iruka was reassured that Naruto's life was in no danger did he really start to calm down.

That, and this was his third visit for the day to Naruto's room, too! This was the sort of mother-hen Umino Iruka was towards the well-being of his students, especially orphans like Naruto who lived alone.

Looking into his teacher's sincere, dark brown eyes, Naruto felt a twinge of guilt rising inside his chest. The boy was broken out of his musings, however, when Iruka decided to change the mood a little. "And one more thing.."

Naruto soon found himself swallowing fearfully as he saw the throbbing vein on Iruka's forehead. That… was never a good thing. The chuunin instructor gave his best scary look, enjoying the horror-struck expression forming on Naruto's face as his hand balled into a fist and he grounded the boy's head almost playfully. "Do you have any idea how much work you've missed by skipping class like that? Huh?"

"Ow, sorry..." Naruto winced, his face downcast and cowering under his teacher's look. When nothing else happened a few second later, he cracked open a blue eye and looked up timidly, and was met with Iruka's amused face. In fact, the chuunin was barely stifling a mischievous chuckle. It was so much fun to tease his favorite student, sometimes. It just never got old.

At the moment, Naruto was honestly unsure if he should feel relieved or slightly annoyed, so he settled a bit on both.

"Relax, I'm not angry at you," Iruka reassured him, his lips curling and he broke into a snicker. "But you should have really seen your face! It was priceless!" The teacher only got more amused as he watched Naruto grumbled _— _wait_, _did the blond just _pout_? _—_ incoherently under his breath, and swiftly removing his hand when the boy started batting it away. It was a rather funny reaction, and it was a much rarer side of Naruto known only to those close enough to him. "Alright.. Alright.. I'm just saying that you must catch up with the rest of your classmates once you're feeling up for it, okay?"

"Ossu!" Naruto gave a squinty-eyed, ear to ear grin as he raised one hand to his forehead in a quick salute. The blond's expression was really contagious as usual, and Iruka soon found himself smiling as well._ 'Now that's more like the Naruto I know.'_ Chuckling and nodding approvingly, the man decided he had more good news to tell Naruto.

"Oh, and I nearly forgot. On my way here, the medics told me you're cleared to go at any time now."

The academy instructor paused and waited for a response, and was not disappointed when Naruto visibly perked up at this. Being a quick healer and usually full of energy, it was only natural that his student was starting to get bored after being stuck in this room and doing nothing but resting for the entire afternoon.

"But before that.." Iruka's hands reached for the brown paper bag he had brought along, and Naruto's curious gaze followed the movement as his teacher took out what seemed like a takeout container from within. Opening the lid and holding it closer to the blond, the older man could not help but snicker again at Naruto's reaction when the familiar, inviting aroma of steaming miso ramen tickled the boy's nostrils. "I figured you might want something to snack on. Hungry?"

"You bet! I'm starving!" Naruto grinned, nodding his head vigorously. His stomach, as if having a mind of its own, chose this moment to let out a loud growl to prove his point. Eagerly but politely accepting and splitting the disposable chopsticks apart, the boy brought his hands together in a simple clap, "Itadakimasu!"

"Be careful, it's hot," Iruka said, watching as his student started slurping down the seasoned noodles as if his life depended on it. He resisted the urge to sweatdrop, but nevertheless smiled at the heartwarming sight before him. "And make sure you chew, 'kay?"

"Mhm!" Naruto only grinned wider, the three pairs of thin lines on his cheeks crinkled up in response. An indescribable warmth was spreading through him that had nothing to do with the steaming food; he was simply elated and touched to have people caring for him. It was a happiness he once never knew, but one he had always wished to experience. Without even realizing it himself, a few drops of tears had slid silently down his cheeks.

_'Thanks, Iruka-sensei… Thank you, everyone... Thank you..'_

* * *

Five o'clock on the next morning found Naruto back in his apartment room, standing in front of his full-length wall mirror which was almost double his size. Despite his soundless sleep the previous night after Iruka brought him back, the boy's blond hair still jutted out randomly in its natural spikiness, refusing to succumb to the gravity.

Naruto was currently standing in only a simple pair of boxer shorts he had slept in, his cerulean blue eyes checking his reflection over in the mirror. It was obviously not the first time he had seen himself under swathes of bandages in his young life, that much was certain, but this was the definite first time that he looked at his bandage-clad form…. and actually smiled. He had done something right. He had protected someone precious to him, and that thought put him in good spirits.

With fluid movements, Naruto gingerly peeled away the bandages and band-aids, starting with those on his forehead and followed by his chest and back. As the last of the medical fabric fell away, the spiky-haired blond turned around and checked his back where the kunai had hit home, cringing slightly as he recalled the memory. Perfectly healthy skin met his gaze, and Naruto sighed in relief; he still had his morning training later on, and he wanted to be in his best shape to get the most out of it.

A fresh but quick shower later, a more refreshed-looking Naruto got himself dressed in the same clothes he had worn the day before; they had been properly cleaned and mended by the time Iruka retrieved his belongings from the hospital staffs, though Naruto made a pretty good guess that it was probably thanked to a certain pale-eyed Hyuga heiress. Deciding he would thank her later, the ten-year-old strapped his trusty chakra weights back on his wrists and ankles, making sure to increase the weights back to their most recent amounts.

"This should do," he nodded to himself after a while, allowing a satisfied grin to spread across his lips.

Raising his arms above his head for a quick stretch, Naruto made his way to the kitchen table, and promptly grabbed an apple from his fruit basket. He munched on it happily, savoring its juicy flesh down his throat and mentally thanking Chouji for the kind gift. Along the way out of his apartment room, Naruto picked up his moss green academy backpack and swung it over his shoulders, shifting a little so that it was comfortable; he usually went straight to the academy after his daily morning routine at Training Field Two.

_'Wonder if Lee's there yet.'_ He idly mused as he stepped into his usual pair of blue shinobi sandals and strapping them on, before closing the door behind him, locking it as quietly as he could. After all, it would be a bad idea to wake up any unfriendly occupants staying on the floors beneath his. As he let his now sandaled feet carried him down the wooden stairs leading to the ground outside, his cerulean orbs soaked in the peaceful view around him, enjoying the distant twittering of birds and the crisp morning air.

Only a few early-bird villagers could be seen on the street, with most of them being shopkeepers or food stall owners, but they were too busy readying their business for the day to even notice Naruto's presence. Not that Naruto cared, in fact, he preferred it that way for now, to be treated as just a normal passerby instead of some contagious disease. Though, a few of them eventually caught sight of him, and began whispering hurriedly among one another. Naruto grimaced, but arched an eyebrow in surprise once he was close enough to overhear the topic of their conversation.

"…you hear? _That _kid actually helped in the Hyuga incident…."

"….really? ….. thought it was just a rumor…."

"._.shh_… that's _him. He's_ coming close.."

Normally, Naruto would ignore the villagers and walked past them. He disliked doing that, but it always hurt him to see the hateful glances they threw him on daily basis. Though, today, Naruto dared himself to give a small peek, and to his wonder, the villagers did not seem as hostile as they would usually be, and even though the glares were still present, their intensities were a tad lower. Naruto felt hope. It was a change. A small change, but a change nonetheless. A thin smile tugged at his lips.

"Heh…" the boy said quietly to nobody in particular once he was alone, as he allowed a wider smile to grace his features. A fierce determination seemed to gleam in his vibrant blue eyes as he looked at the sky. He had made up his mind.

"...I won't let you down, Jiji, everyone," he fisted his hand and held it skywards towards the direction of the Hokage monument. "And you too… Yondaime. Just watch me."

With that, Naruto hitched his backpack more securely onto his shoulder and picked up his pace, an extra spring in his steps as he jogged towards the training ground with a renewed vigor.

* * *

**Kumogakure no Sato, in the Raikage's office…**

"How did it go?" the Yondaime Raikage looked up at his messenger, who was kneeling respectfully before him. Flowing, customary white robe adorning his form, the leader of _Kumogakure no Sato_ was in his late thirties, and had most of his facial features overshadowed by the hat covering his head. Instead of the kanji for fire like that of the Hokage's, this one sported the one for thunder.

"I'm afraid the operation has ended in failure, Raikage-sama," the messenger, a young chuunin with black hair bowed lower, bracing himself in case of his leader's wrath. The Yondaime Raikage had always been a strict man, which meant he would hardly tolerate any failures in important missions. A few seconds passed, and something unexpected happened.

The Raikage began to chuckle. Very uncharacteristically.

"_Ku.. ku.. ku.._ That so? No matter, Shurai-kun. I never expect them to succeed anyway," the Raikage addressed his messenger casually with an unusually sibilant voice, his thin lips twisted into a crooked mimicry of a smirk. Shurai felt the air around him suddenly grew much colder than usual; it was as if his insides had been frozen solid. Something was not right here. The Raikage had _never_ chuckled, and was definitely not one to take the lives of his followers this lightly. "Quite the contrary, I'd be genuinely surprised if they did, being the bunch of nobodies they are."

The chunin could not help but gave his leader an odd look. "R-Raikage-sama?'

"The four of them were just merely a test against Konoha's defenses. The Byakugan can wait; I can hunt for them at my own leisure.. but not before I'm done _studying _all the _kekkei genkai_ Kumo has to offer,of course," the white-robed man continued cryptically, not even deigning to spare a glance at his subordinate's increasingly puzzled reaction. "Now, now.. what do you say I show you something interesting as a thank you, for all your hard work so far?"

"Wha..What do you mean?"

Getting more bewildered by the second, Shurai looked up at his leader, who decided to amuse him by tilting his Kage hat a little higher so he could get a better view of his face. Instead of the Raikage's usual pistachio green eyes, an unfamiliar pair of slitted golden eyes outlined with purple markings was staring right back at him. For that precise moment, the chuunin felt as if he were a powerless prey before a bloodthirsty predator.

And he had no idea how right he was. Only then, recognition dawned like a jackhammer to his head. This man, no, _monster_ before him was not the Raikage! Those haunting, serpentine eyes, Shurai could vividly recall seeing them somewhere at the very first front pages of the Bingo Book as if it were just yesterday, reserved only for the most terrible of S-rank missing ninjas in the shinobi world. Why had he not noticed this sooner? Better yet, why hadn't anyone else did on the matter? How long... how long had this man been in their village, acting as their superior?

"Y….ou…you..a…are..."

"Too late," the imposter finished smoothly for him, licking his lips in an almost too calmly manner as if he was just commenting about the weather.

Those were the last words coming out from Shurai's throat, before he barely caught sight of a hidden danger in the form of a slithering silhouette hissing ominously from behind his back, and in a blink, the cold, scaly creature had sunk its sharp fangs deep into his neck. Whatever bit him was obviously poisonous to the brim; all the air seemed to vanish from his lungs, and the paralyzing pain travelling down the rest of his body was too much. Shurai let out a muted croak of a scream, not even loud enough to be heard outside the room. He vaguely felt his legs giving up from under him, before his world slowly went inky black... and he knew no more.

The Kumo chuunin was dead before his face had even hit the floor, with the helpless expression of horror still affixed at his features.

"_Ku... Ku..._ Clueless fools."

* * *

**_~End Chapter 3~_**

_Glossary_

_Kiiroi Senkō - Yellow Flash_

_That's all about this chapter. So how was it? And how do you find Naruto in this story? I've tried my very best to make the scenes as realistic as possible._

_To make this story even more interesting, I have daringly changed the Yondaime Raikage's identity instead of following the one in the original anime, and guess who is the imposter? It should be very obvious xD _

_Anyway, let's talk about it in the reviews! And thanks to all those who had reviewed the first two chapters, your feedbacks are very much appreciated! *bows*_

_Until next time._


	4. Chapter 4 A Chanced Discovery

_**Some words from the Author:**_

_Hi all! Chapter 4 is out! Enjoy your time reading and have a great day ahead! :D_

* * *

**Chapter 4 A Chanced Discovery**

* * *

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since the failed Hyuga abduction attempt by Kumo and Naruto finding out about the _Kyuubi no Youko_. Life pretty much went on like usual for the blond. He would keep up his training early in the mornings with Lee _—_ who had fussed over him the next day after finding out that he was hospitalized, attended the academy classes with Hinata, grabbed some bites at Ichiraku's _— _the old chef as well as his daughter had the same worried reactions as Lee, if not more, and read whatever good books he could get his hands on during nighttime.

Though, it did not come without a positive twist.

Naruto was still finding this a little hard to believe _—_ the once neutral-looking Hyuga clan members he met along the Konoha streets would now greet him politely, and he would always return their gestures by waving back with equal politeness, which definitely earned him some added points in their book. It had been rather awkward at first with the sudden attention, but this was definitely one change he would welcome with open arms.

On the other hand, most of the villagers would still throw him the usual looks of hate and disgust, with a small group of them now spreading rumors about how the _demon_ _brat_ had somehow charmed the Hyuga clan under its dark clutches, but Naruto knew better than to let those spiteful comments get to him. And thankfully, none of them seemed to know about him unconsciously tapping into Kyuubi's chakra during his most recent fight; the Hokage must have covered it up pretty well.

However, the best thing that happened was that the Sandaime himself had deemed Naruto's selfless deed worthy of successful B-rank mission, and the blond had been rewarded with a nice sum of mission payment as a result. The ten-year-old vividly remembered how surprised he was when he first found the payment envelope with a short official note attached, under his door in one of the mornings. Though, Naruto did not have anything specific in mind about what he should do with the money at the moment, so the boy decided to just keep it under a loose floorboard below his bed where he hid the rest of his more precious possessions from curious eyes.

It was weekend today, which meant the young Uzumaki was free from any classes for the entire day. This was precisely why he now found himself in the usual training field right now, trying to figure out a solution to the latest problem he had been facing since a week ago. It was none other than...

"Bunshin no Jutsu! _(__Clone Technique__)_"

Naruto called out the name of the jutsu he was struggling with for the .. well, he had lost count of how many times he had said the same words, and the boy looked expectantly as several faint 'poof's sounded beside the ground where he was currently standing on. When the wisps of smoke cleared away, however, Naruto's hopeful face once again deflated at the sight greeting his cerulean eyes.

Instead of two healthy-looking clones he had been expecting, he was looking at two pale, sickly-looking versions of himself that were not even able to stand upright, let alone convince the others that they were anything close to the real thing. And in the next second, they fazed out of existence in puffs of white smoke, once again leaving the blond alone in the field.

'_I'm still using too much chakra?_' Naruto sighed inwardly for what must have been the umpteenth time. It was not that he was one to give up easily, but he must admit that his continuously unsuccessful attempts and the memory of his classmates producing good clones in only their first tries did dampen a little of his spirit somewhat. The E-rank ninjutsu had seemed so easy, but despite all his grueling efforts, he simply could not do it.

From his slightly haggard breathing and the glistening film of sweat covering his skin, it was evident that Naruto had been at this for quite a while now. With a soft thud, the blond-haired boy slumped down onto the bed of grass under him in a spread-eagled fashion, ignoring the sticky feeling of his now sweat-soaked shirt clinging against his body like wet glue. In fact, it was already near noon time, and the gradually warming sun of mid June did little to alleviate his discomfort.

'_I'm not.. gonna give up,_' Naruto told himself, allowing a tired smile to grace his sweaty face. '_Somehow_.._today, I think I'll manage something. I can feel it!_'

Tugging at the top opening of his shirt a few times to let some cool air in, he stayed like this for a few more minutes, allowing a fraction of his fatigue to dissipate before slowly getting back up on his feet. Naruto shook off a few blades of grass that got stuck on his clothes, his feet carrying towards the biggest tree in the area under which he had left his other belongings. Just like most of its kind in _Hi no Kuni_, this one was brimming with brilliant green leaves, offering natural cover from the sun's harsh glare like an oversized parasol.

Under its cool shade, Naruto fished out a clean sweat towel from his small backpack, ran the tea-green material over his face and left it hanging around his neck after he was done. It was only then that his stomach decided to make itself known, and rather loudly at that. A sheepish grin tugged at the boy's lips as he promptly reached down again and took out a container keeping his lunch, before he got himself seated with his back against the woody trunk.

"Itadakimasu," he said out of habit as he began munching on one of the few sandwiches he had prepared for himself earlier in the morning. Occasionally, a few birds would come swooping by his way, and the kind-hearted blond would treat them to a few berries he had brought along. Letting the delightful taste of fried eggs, chicken, and sliced tomatoes to melt in his mouth before he took another bite out of his sandwich, Naruto's mind began to wander aimlessly.

* * *

**_A week ago, Konoha Academy..._**

"_All right, everyone, settle down. Now we'll be going through the Bunshin no Jutsu!" Iruka stood with his back facing the blackboard, clearing his throat in an attempt to get his students' attention. Beside him, his teaching assistant - another chuunin with shoulder-length silver hair, one Touji Mizuki was leaning against the wall and looking rather bored as usual. "And no sleeping in class, Shikamaru! Geez, you too, Chouji, please stop eating!"_

_After a round of snickers followed by a embarrassed "Hai!" accompanied by a low groan of what sounded like a yawn from the sleeping student, Iruka nodded, and began explaining the notes he had written on the board prior to the lesson. Like usual, Naruto took his seat beside his first friend Hinata, with Kiba and Shino sitting close behind them. _

"_Bunshin no Jutsu, if done correctly would create an intangible copy of your own body," Iruka continued in professional manner of speaking, before gesturing to Mizuki. "Now, watch closely as Mizuki-sensei demonstrates the jutsu. This is very important."_

"_No problem, Iruka," Mizuki positioned himself in the front of the class where everyone could see him clearly, and went through the handseals as slowly as possible. When he was done, with a gentle 'poof' of smoke later a perfect copy of himself was standing next to him, down to every detail. Smirking slightly as he watched the awestruck faces from most of the students, the silver-haired chuunin assistant remained standing as he was, allowing Iruka to carry on the explanation._

"_Now, can anyone tell me if there's any difference between the clone and the original?" the teacher's eyes swept across the room for any volunteers to answer his question, and to no one's surprise, a pink-haired girl eagerly raised her hand. "Yes, Sakura?"_

"_The clone doesn't have a shadow," she pointed out confidently, and Naruto, being the avid learner he was, made sure to scribble down that particular detail in his notebook. It could be a potential exam question, after all, and who knew the knowledge might come in handy in the future._

"_Very good, Sakura," the girl visibly flushed at her teacher's compliment, and she quickly smiled across one Uchiha Sasuke sitting at one end of the room in hope to get some attention, but groaned when the stoic-looking boy did not even spare her a single glance as usual, all the while staring at the wall as if the white paint were far more interesting. As long as Naruto could remember, most of the girls in his class except Hinata had been trying hard to get the Uchiha's attention from time to time, but with zero success so far. Well, too bad for them._

"_And does anyone else has anything to add on?" the scarred chuunin enquired, and seeing no raised hands this time round, he went on explaining. "Actually, there's another way to differentiate between the clone and the original, but it is not encouraged in real combat. Observe."_

_Everyone's eyes followed when Iruka lightly poked Mizuki's copy on the shoulders, and it seemed to distort for a second and then puffing out from existence. "As you can see, the Bunshin is very weak to any sorts of physical contact, so the real purpose of the jutsu is just as a quick distraction. Any questions so far?"_

_Normally, Naruto would have some questions wanted to be answered, but today, the lesson seemed to be straightforward enough, so he did not have any so far. Iruka gave his eyes another thorough sweep around the class to make doubly sure not to miss any raised hands. When there was none, he took a glance at the wall clock, noting the time, and nodded. "Okay, since we still have some time, let's give the jutsu a try. Please come up when I call your names to have a go at Bunshin no Jutsu. Aburame Shino, you're first." _

_Naruto watched as the silent-looking boy wearing a pair of black glasses and light gray, high-collared coat calmly stood up from his seat and started walking towards Iruka. _

"_Good luck, Shino," Naruto whispered as he walked past him, and the boy in question turned to gave him a curt nod which literally meant 'Thank you' for those who knew him enough. _

_In fact, Naruto had started talking to him since two weeks ago after he got out from the hospital. To the blond's discovery, besides his lengthy and logical way of speech, Shino was, in actual fact a pretty decent friend. The only reason that most students in his class had stayed clear away from him was that Aburame clan members were known to house a colony of Kikaichū (Parasitic Destruction Bugs) inside their bodies to assist them in various situations, but whatever response Shino was expecting from the blond, "That's really neat!" was definitely not one of them._

_The bug-user performed the jutsu perfectly in only his first try, and the chuunin instructors nodded approvingly, before calling the next student in the name list. It was only to be expected; those belonging to prominent clans usually had a head start in shinobi training that others like Naruto did not. The blond watched as student after student went up and returned with bright smiles, and while not most of them could do the technique on their first tries as compared to those belonging to clans, they could at least produce something close to a good clone. Hinata's was perfect too, earning a small cheer from Naruto on her way back and heck, even Shikamaru who lazed around earlier managed to do it, something which surprised the rest of the class to no end._

_The process continued, and after another flawless performance by the class genius, Uchiha Sasuke who quickly became the receiving end of a lot of admiring looks from the girls, Naruto knew he was next on the name list. _

_"Next, Uzumaki Naruto."_

_The boy took a deep breath, before walking up to the very front and stood facing his classmates. Getting a permissive nod from Iruka to start, Naruto made the correct handseals and reached out for his chakra. Eyes closed in concentration, he could feel the warm energy start moving from his core, slowly as it picked up speed and coursing through him. __'I can do this!'_

"_Bunshin no Jutsu!"_

_For a moment, everything seemed to be silent, but a second later, an eruption of funny laughter from his classmates reached his ears. Perplexed, Naruto nervously cracked open an eye and looked at his results, only to see two sickly-looking, discolored lumps which were supposed to be his copies on the ground next to him. They did not even resemble him in any way. 'Wha...? I'm pretty sure I did the handseals correctly..'_

_Iruka seemed to be wanting to say something, probably to throw him some advice or get the class to settle down, but Mizuki had beaten him to the punch. Walking closer, the silver-haired teaching assistant gave Naruto what seemed like a kind smile like he always did, "You know, you don't have to be so nervous, Naruto. Let's give it another shot, all right?"_

_Naruto knew he was not as nervous as everyone thought he was, but nevertheless, he nodded, before going through the handseals all over again. This time, with a little more confidence, he called out the name of the technique again. 'Please let this work!'_

"_Bunshin no Jutsu!" _

_Without much luck, the same results greeted his vision, and the only improvement this time was that his clones actually had a tiny bit more definition in their forms, but that was all. They were still weakly pale and were lying with their tongues lolling out of their mouths as if they were dehydrated, for the lack of a better term. The roar of laughter erupted once again, only louder this time with hurtful jeers of "Loser!" and "Idiot!" thrown into the mix. Although it made Naruto felt somewhat better to see that his friends were not the ones laughing at him, he would be lying to say that he did not feel any hurt deep inside. _

_Trying to suppress a flicker of disappointment before it could enter his expression, Naruto scratched the back of his head and forced a sheepish grin as he made his way back to his seat. Though, at his failed attempts at the jutsu earlier, no one caught an oddly calculative, triumphant-looking smirk creeping onto Mizuki's usually kind countenance._

"_N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata began as she saw Naruto got back on his chair. Naruto turned to face her, noticing her concerned look. He sighed inwardly._

"_I guess I messed up. But don't worry! I'm all right," Naruto grinned wider at her, and although he sounded all cheery like usual, Hinata could not help but notice a tiny bit of hurt in his voice before it was quickly hidden. The boy was a horribly bad liar, but deciding she should give the blond some space to himself, Hinata merely nodded, though not without shooting him worried glances from time to time._

_The rest of the lesson was a blur to Naruto. He found it difficult to pay much attention, as his mind already too clouded with the earlier events. In fact, the blond was barely aware that the bell had even rung until he heard a loud cheer from the class. The students erupted into happy chatter as they rushed out of the class in a stampede of eagerness and hurried movements. Even Shikamaru, who was dragging himself out of the door like a flatworm showed some enthusiasm in leaving._

_Iruka sighed at their antics as he rubbed the horizontal scar above his nose. Were they so afraid that he would lock them inside here? Or were his lessons really just that boring? The scarred chuunin turned to looked at Naruto's place, and was genuinely surprised to see the blond sitting there, unmoving with his books and notes still on the table. Hinata had remained, too as well as one Uchiha Sasuke who was usually in no hurry._

"_Naruto?" Iruka prompted as he walked closer to the blond, trying to kick up a conversation._

"_Hey, Iruka-sensei.." Naruto flashed his usual smile, but it lacked most of the warm, sunny-feeling behind it. Most people would not notice, but Iruka was definitely not most people. If anything, he felt himself softened at such a sight._

"_You don't have to feel so down, you know," the scarred teacher gave him a knowing look. He did not even have to guess what his little brother figure was feeling right now. Gradually, Naruto's smile became much smaller, but it somehow revealed much more of his hidden emotions. Iruka only placed one hand on the boy's right shoulder in a silent attempt to cheer him up, causing Naruto to look up at him._

"_Come on, let's give the jutsu another go, okay? Maybe then we'll figure out if there's anything you're not doing right," Iruka grinned, and Naruto visibly brightened up at this. Nodding, he stood up and followed Iruka to the front of the class where there was more space to move around. _

_As Naruto did the handseals slowly so that Iruka could take a good look at them, Hinata and surprisingly, Sasuke approached them as well, a well-veiled expression of curiosity gracing his facade. During the first year, Naruto was nothing special, so Sasuke thought the blond was really just a complete idiot like he had appeared to be, but ever since Naruto started becoming friends with Hinata, things just… changed. _

_For starters, the blue-eyed boy had suddenly stopped his pranking habits __— though Sasuke suspected Naruto never really enjoyed pranking others in the first place ____—_ to a bare minimum, and had taken his studies much more seriously even when he was struggling at the start. Sasuke remembered once when Naruto had approached him to ask something; Iruka and Hinata had left, so he was the only one he could ask for help. And to say Sasuke was taken aback was an understatement; the blond boy would always ask about interesting details that others would usually neglect, and sometimes even the genius found himself unable to give a straight answer to some of the questions. Sasuke was not sure how and when it all happened, but he had unconsciously become someone like a friend to the Uzumaki. 

_The stoic-looking Uchiha with duckbutt hair seldom talked to Naruto when there were other students around during class time, so they would usually do it during the taijutsu spars instead if they were lucky enough to be placed together in a match. And when they did, it would usually involved exchanging a few helpful tips with one another by pointing out the flaws in each other's movements, without being overheard by the others of course. Once, when the Uzumaki boy had pointed out a flaw in his traditional Uchiha fighting style, Sasuke was left flabbergasted. _

_Naruto was more determined than anyone he had known, the Uchiha prodigy could clearly tell that, and the blond was gradually getting better and better throughout the semesters. Heck, even when every time Naruto lost a match to him, Sasuke felt the boy was getting increasingly challenging to defeat. There was this odd niggling feeling behind Sasuke's mind that the blond was not giving his all, but he pushed that lingering thought aside for now, and focused on what was going on in front of him._

_He watched as Naruto performed the clone technique and once again failed to produce the intended results, his jet black eyes not missing a quick spike of blue chakra around the blond's feet when he looked closer. _

"_Dobe, you're probably using too much chakra," Sasuke said without thinking, surprising the other three occupants in the classroom as they turned to him. Naruto twitched slightly out of habit at the nickname like usual, but he knew Sasuke did not mean it literally, so he was more interested at what the Uchiha was saying. The jailer of the Kyuubi looked down at his hands thoughtfully. 'Well, if you put it that way...'_

_Iruka gave Sasuke one of what he could think of as a disapproving look at his usage of the first word, before nodding at the boy's hypothesis and turning back to his blond-haired student. _

"_I was thinking the same, too. You're overloading the technique, Naruto. __The Bunshin no Jutsu only requires very little chakra,_" Iruka agreed, though he had a pretty good guess of where Naruto's enormous chakra was coming from - the furry tenant residing inside the boy's stomach. "Hmm.. maybe I should get you started on a simple exercise to try improving your chakra control. Have you ever heard of the leaf concentration exercise?"

* * *

**_Back to the present time..._**

The leaf concentration exercise, of course, involved the use of a leaf being placed on any part of an individual's body, and with a pinpoint amount of chakra as an adhesive medium, one had to prevent it from falling off. Yes, just like what Naruto was trying to do right now.

It was easier said than done, however.

Eyes closed _—_something he found to help him concentrate better___— _and seated in a comfortable position, the blond tried blocking out the ambient noises as best as he could, his main attention solely focused on a single leaf sticking against his forehead. For the past few days, Naruto had been practicing this a lot when he was free or when it was quieter during night time, but it had been rather unfruitful; the whole point of the exercise was so that he could have better chakra control, or in other words, use lesser amount of chakra, but Naruto just _couldn't _lower its usage past a certain extent. It was as if he was trying to squeeze a tiny drop of water out from an endlessly raging river.

Of course, the blond had considered spamming his _Suiton: Mizurrapa_ for the entire morning until he was dead tired and low on his chakra, then maybe that would be _little_ enough to create a proper clone. The thought was desperate and sounded crazy, yet at the same time seemed rather appealing to him, but he squashed the notion after giving it some serious thinking. It was not a feasible method in real combat at all, and he had been through one just two weeks ago.

'_Six seconds._' Naruto sighed as the leaf slid off his forehead and fluttered innocently onto his lap. He found himself contemplating whether or not he should keep trying the clone technique for the rest of the afternoon, but a small part of him decided he should probably look at the problem from a different angle. Maybe there was an alternative way to perform the jutsu? Now that was something to look into, and it seemed to be a much better idea.

The boy thought of looking for Iruka to get more advice, but he quickly decided against the idea; the scarred chuunin had been staying back after classes to help him despite his busy schedule, so the least Naruto could do was to allow his teacher to enjoy a good rest during the weekend. Hinata would probably be in the middle of her clan practice in the Hyuga compound and Sasuke… well, he did not have the slightest clue where Sasuke's house was.

'_Some extra information about the jutsu would really help,_' Naruto told himself. The boy seemed like he was thinking hard for a minute, and his mood brightened up considerably when the proverbial light bulb clicked on in his head. A big grin then tugged at his lips.

How could he have forgotten the best place to get hold of such information?

* * *

_**Later in the afternoon, Konoha's Local Library...**_

'_Bunshin no Jutsu…. Bunshin no Jutsu..'_

Disguised under his usual Henge, Naruto kept that thought firmly inside his head as he ventured down to yet another of the many vast wooden shelves filled with various books and scrolls. It was still lunch time for the rest of the populace, so the blond was pretty much alone in the vast library; well, this was one of the main reasons why he liked visiting the library during lunch hours, but he made it a habit to keep up his Henge nevertheless, just in case someone accidentally discovered his presence and decided to throw him out.

Academy textbooks only held limited information, so he came to the conclusion that the best way to improve his situation was to find out more extra details related to the jutsu he was struggling with. Though, right now, Naruto found himself facing with a rather…. _troublesome_ issue, unconsciously imitating what Shikamaru would say in these sorts of situations; well, he had come across a lot of scrolls explaining the other two academy jutsu, namely the Henge no Jutsu which he already had it down months ago and the Kawarimi no Jutsu (_Body Replacement Technique_) which he would be learning in future, but…

'_Come on!_ _Why isn't there anything on Bunshin no Jutsu?_'

Naruto could not help but let out a tired sigh as he once again tried his luck checking through another bookcase on which laid an endless wealth of knowledge. The ten-year-old scanned through the contents left and right, but once again, he could find nothing relevant. Heck, he had even checked through the shelves twice to make sure he did not miss anything. Deciding it was still too early to give up, Naruto continued searching through every shelf in the area.

Roughly an hour later, a physically drained, still empty-handed blond continued walking past shelves after shelves of reading materials which he had searched previously. Evidently, even with his amount of stamina, the non-stop searching process was starting to tire him out. He began to wonder at the lack of any related information, looking a little disheartened. '_Is the jutsu really that easy?_'

And so, feeling somewhat lost, with his head distractedly pointed to the ground, he dragged his feet through the aisles towards the last, old-looking shelf that remained unchecked in the area... and promptly collided with someone who was carrying a large stack of books and scrolls that obscured her vision. The sudden impact ended with both of them collapsing on their backs, the thick pile of books and scrolls slipping out of the other person's grasp before scattering unceremoniously onto the floor.

Naruto let out a surprised yelp as a single or two of the thicker books fell on his legs, the process dispelling his _Henge no Jutsu_ without him knowing it happening. And as if that were not enough, one of them must have knocked onto the old shelf, and a small, weathered-looking scroll rolled off its precarious position and dropped onto Naruto's head, eliciting another yelp from the poor boy.

"Ow_w..._" Naruto groaned, before gingerly rubbing the throbbing area and sat up quickly, trying to survey the situation even with his vision now seeing two of everything. He sluggishly picked the half unfurled scroll that landed on him earlier and brought it in front of his face for a quick look. His blue eyes were still too dazed to get a clear picture of everything, but he managed to make out three big words he was searching for.

"Bunshin… no Jutsu_..?_" he read, and his eyes widened with disbelief and joy as if he had struck gold. This was what he was searching for since over an hour ago! And to think it had found him instead of the other way round. Oh, the irony. Though, Naruto suddenly felt he was forgetting something, or more accurately, _someone_, before realization hit him and he turned towards whoever he had collided with.

That _someone_, now revealed as a teenage girl looking not much older than him was gently dusting herself off, before her hand began groping to find something on the floor. With her Konoha forehead protector tied backwards around her waist like a sash, she was clothed casually in a dark red dress with a white coat over the garment, and it was only seconds later that she found what she was looking for — a pair of swirl-tinted glasses which she hastily wore it back on. And, like Naruto, it was only then she remembered she had just collided onto someone else earlier.

"O-Oh no! I'm sorry! I'm _very_ sorry!" the teenage girl in question panicked as she hastily shoved aside the books that were strewn all over the tiled floor, and hurried beside Naruto in a heartbeat. When she was closer, the boy noticed she also had blond hair, but it was a lighter shade compared to his and tied in a loose ponytail with occasional strands sticking out, giving it a slightly disheveled look. She quickly helped the still slightly groggy-looking Naruto back to a standing position, a very concerned look gracing her face as she dusted him off.

"Are you alright? I-I.. didn't expect to bump into anyone here! I was…. " the girl continued breathlessly in an almost incoherently fast manner due to obvious panic, and started bowing effusively in apology. "I was so careless I... Please be alright! I'm _so_ very sorry! I really am!"

"Uh... Uhm.." Sweatdropping at her rather exuberant display, Naruto was left speechless on the spot, not really knowing how to continue, and it was only a few seconds later that he found his voice back.

"I-I'm okay, I guess…uh.." Naruto said with his stunned expression still in place, a little unsure of what to make out of the situation. Checking himself over for any signs of injuries, the worst he could feel were just some light bruising on his left leg, but he decided not to worry her with it; after all, it was nothing a good night's sleep could not fix. "And, well… it's my fault for not seeing where I was going, so I should be the one apologizing." He managed a small grin. "Sorry."

"No, no… how can it be your fault? Like I said, I was careless," the girl insisted, shaking her head. Out of courtesy, Naruto settled with helping her piling up the stack of books and scrolls, and the bespectacled teen took this chance to study the boy in greater detail; there was something telling her that she had heard about him somewhere from one of her Hyuga friends, and after doing some memory recalling, it hit her.

Raising a finger to point at the boy unbelievingly, she found herself blurting out what was of her mind, "Blond hair… blue eyes... whiskers… no way… you can't possibly be… Uzumaki Naruto-kun?"

The was a moment of silence as the boy registered her words.

'_Huh?_ _How did she..?.. Wait, don't tell me that..._' Naruto, who was currently placing down the last of the scrolls on the neat pile, froze up instantly, before glancing into the nearest glass casing. Much to confirm his fears, he found his own reflection staring right back at him. '_My Henge!_' The boy began to panic, now that his cover was blown. Finding no excuse, Naruto only nodded numbly, before holding his hands up placatingly in front of him in a feeble attempt to defend himself. It was almost as if he were expecting to be hit or something.

"L-Look, I can exp–" the whiskered boy began a little frantically, but he found himself losing confidence after seeing the shocked look spreading across the girl's face. For a moment, Naruto looked half-ready to bolt at the first sign of hostility, totally thinking that he was screwed, but…

"So it's really you! You're the boy who saved the Hyuga heiress?"

" –lain, I was just..? Eh?" Naruto blinked. He blinked again, stupefied by the sudden loss of tension in the air. That was pretty… anticlimactic for the lack of a better word, but the suddenness of the question being asked had caught him off guard. Naturally, Naruto expected to get yelled out by now, but by some stroke of luck, he was not. This was a good sign, and that thought alone had calmed him down somewhat. Now lowering his hands and looking blankly at the girl, Naruto noticed she had an eager and expectant look on her face that unnerved him somewhat.

"I.. that… not really.. I'm not the one who saved Hinata, her Tou-chan did," Naruto corrected her claim as politely as he could, recalling the event two weeks ago. "And all I did was, umm," he had the tendency to look embarrassed, as he scratched his cheeks out of habit. "I practically just got my butt kicked all over the place. Really!"

"Oh. But still, that was very brave of you, so don't sell yourself too short," the girl chuckled good-naturedly at Naruto's choice of words. The boy in question was not sure whether she had said all that just to make him feel better, but he appreciated the thought nevertheless. With a friendly smile across her lips, the white clad girl held out her right hand while gesturing to herself with her other one to properly introduce herself.

"I'm Shiho, by the way. It's a pleasure knowing you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto was slightly tentative at first, but he eventually found himself grinning and returning the handshake with a firm grip. "Same here, Shiho-neechan."

Naruto took this time to wonder a little bit at himself. It just so happened that he seemed to have a knack for making friends under the weirdest of situations. Though, when he noticed the teenage girl stiffened at the way he called her, Naruto grew nervous. "Sorry, I just kinda–"

"Hehe… Shiho-neechan sounds just about right, I kinda like it," Shiho giggled again at the younger boy's response. It was… _strange_ if she seriously think about it; she had started talking with him just about less than five minutes ago, but right now, she felt as if they had become something akin to good friends, just like that. There was just something inside him that made Shiho wanted to know him better. "So, what brings you here today? Anything I can help with?"

Truthfully, Naruto was somewhat glad that he had bumped into this person earlier. Shiho was not hurrying him off or even glaring at him, but instead she had offered to befriend him willingly. In short, he had found what he needed, and made a new friend as an added bonus; it was like killing two birds with one stone.

"Oh… I was searching for something to help me with basic Bunshin," Naruto picked up the old-looking scroll that had dropped onto him earlier, and flashed another grin, "But I guess I've found what I was looking for." He paused and looked sheepish for a moment. "Or rather it has found me."

Seeing a somewhat disappointed look dawned on his new friend's face, Naruto quickly added, "On second thought, I think I'll need some books on chakra control."

Shiho smiled enthusiastically. "And I know just the thing you'll need. Come with me, please."

Naruto followed suit, and recalling the one of their earlier conversations, the blond decided to add in as he grinned nervously and pointed at the distinctive thin lines on his cheeks. "And, uh.. these aren't whiskers, by the way. Sandaime-jiji told me they're called birthmarks."

"Ah, that so? And has any girls in your class told you that you look kinda cute with those?" Shiho asked a little too teasingly out of mischief, and she giggled in amusement as Naruto nearly walked headfirst into the nearest book case and sputtered wordlessly for a reply a second later, his face flushing a deep shade of scarlet that he did not think was even possible. '_I_-_I'm not CUTE!_'

As he let Shiho lead him around the library, Naruto had not only ended up with a hardcover book on _Basic Chakra Control for Dummies_, but Shiho had suggested that he should give himself a head start to get _Kawarimi no Jutsu_ down so he would have more time to work on other things during his final year in the academy.

"A good shinobi is one who always plans ahead, or at least that's what I've heard from my friends," the library assistant shared the advice along the way, her fingers trailing along the spines of the books to find what she was looking for. Adjusting her glasses, the teen looked thoughtful for a moment, before she dropped another hardcover entitled _Shinobi Taijutsu Basics_ onto the growing stack Naruto was currently carrying, and the boy found himself agreeing to that statement whole-heartedly. It would never hurt to prepare early.

Watching her handiwork on Naruto's outstretched hands, she nodded, "I think these will be enough to get you started. I really hope the books will help you."

"Thanks a bunch, Shiho-neechan. You've been a really big help!" Naruto expressed his gratitude, and although he was straining slightly under the thick load on his hands, he looked really happy for her help. Also, he noticed that the female civilian librarian that used to be here was missing, so Naruto thought she must have been replaced by Shiho not too long ago. Well, that was good, now that he did not have to disguise himself every time he wanted to borrow something from the library. "I'll make good use of these."

"It's always my pleasure to help those who need it, no problem," Shiho smiled in a sisterly manner, ruffling Naruto's hair and earning her another embarrassed look from the boy. She added, "And feel free to drop by anytime if you need help with something, or even if it's for a chat. You see, it can get quite dull around here."

"Sure thing, I can do that," Naruto managed a bright grin in understanding, trying to picture himself in her situation, surrounded by nothing but books, scrolls, and more books for the entire day. Yeah, it really did seem a little boring. "You can count on me!"

"Then I wish you the best of luck in whatever you're doing. Work hard, all right?"

"Yep, I will! And thanks again!"

After bidding Shiho goodbye, Naruto wasted no time leaving the library with his stack of reading materials. He returned the polite waves of a few Hyuga members he met along the way, and made a beeline back to his apartment, eager to finally bring the _Bunshin no Jutsu_ trouble to an end.

Yeah, he was sure of it.

* * *

**_Later that night…_**

Back in his apartment room and after a quick shower, Naruto fully, but carefully unfurled the weathered scroll and lay it flat onto the floor. Presently, the blond was clad in only a clean spare of the drawstring shorts he got used to wearing, his hair still slightly wet and towel hanging loosely around his neck. If anything, this just showed how eager he was to get started.

The paper was pretty brown with age, Naruto noticed, and it looked as if the slightest pull could tear it apart if he were careless, not to mention that its edges were littered with countless tiny rips. But he was not complaining; at least he now had something which could possibly provide him more information on _Bunshin no Jutsu_, and without wasting any more time, he got himself in a comfortable sitting position and began reading.

As Naruto's eyes skimmed further and further across the text, the boy's expression changed from eagerness to excitement, then to curiosity, before finally ended in utter puzzlement. Tilting his head to the side, he arched a blond eyebrow to further display his current state of confusion; if anything, whatever written on the scroll was totally different from what he had learned from the academy class.

"… requires large amount of chakra and... huh? Only a single handseal?... clones can be dispelled upon impacts…. also a reminder to not dispel too many of them at one time…hmm..." Naruto tapped his chin with a finger, his expressive blue eyes squinting in thought at the new information. He remembered in one particular lecture that the main purpose of handseals being invented was to guide the chakra properly from the chakra coils so that it would be easier to perform a specific jutsu. '_Maybe because it needs less handseal, the chakra needed has to be more instead?_'

Naruto gave the thought some thinking, outwardly looking as if he trying to digest something particularly difficult. After one contemplative minute, he decided it was probably some sort of shortcut to the clone ninjutsu. That… probably made more sense, somehow. He wanted to read on, but was forced to stop after a few more lines about how this jutsu was created by some guy named Senju Hashirama; the text after that was too blurry and faded for Naruto to make any heads or tails out of it. And although the name had sounded oddly familiar, Naruto did not put much thinking on it for the time being. '_Senju… where have I seen that word again?_ _I'll probably figure it out later.._'

Naruto sighed at the lack of any more information which was in readable quality, but if what he went through earlier could be an alternative way that might work for him, he was not going to just toss it aside without having a crack at it. Especially not after all his efforts to finally find something concerning the clone technique in the library. The boy shrugged, punching a fist into his open palm and cracking his knuckles in anticipation.

'_Not sure if it's gonna work at all, but let's have a go at it!_'

His course of action set, Naruto stood right up, before carefully centering his middle and index fingers together in a cross seal mentioned in the text which he had never heard before. The boy made doubly sure that he made no mistake and closed his eyes, before he began searching for the warm feeling inside himself and slowly reaching and gathering a sizable amount of it.

"Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Nothing seemed to happen for a second, but a few '_poofs_' exploding around him eventually caught his attention. Naruto took a deep breath to steel his nerves, before daring himself to take a look; he had been disappointed too many times in his attempts prior to this, so this was understandable. However, the results greeting his vision quickly caused his cerulean eyes to widen the moment he cracked them open, and a growing big grin crept across his lips.

Unbelievable. Unbelievable was the only word that could describe it.

Standing before him were two perfect, life-sized copies of himself grinning back at him and waiting eagerly for a response, completed with the exact articles of clothing he was presently wearing. They even had the slightly wet-looking hair he was sporting right now. Slapping his own cheeks a few times to convince himself that this was really happening, Naruto could not keep the impossibly huge grin from overtaking his face, and soon he found himself laughing joyously. It was a big success! And all it took was a simple handseal! This was only his first try, too!

'_I.. I don't really understand, but.. it worked! I did it! I really did it!_' Naruto cheered inwardly, punching a fist into the air triumphantly before taking a step towards the closest one, walking around him excitedly and checking him over for any mistakes. There was none that he could find so far, and the clone had looked so unbelievably _real!_ Though, Naruto decided to try dispelling the clone in question, so he tentatively poked at the copy's bare stomach with a finger.

Nothing happened. The clone was still standing there, looking weirdly at him. Frowning slightly, Naruto prodded again, a little harder this time for good measure. Whatever he touched felt adequately squishy… and not to mention familiarly warm. For a split second, Naruto almost thought he was touching his own flesh. Though, the blond had missed the look of discomfort on his clone's face, and did not suspect anything strange…. well, at least not yet.

Much to Naruto's clueless confusion, the blond look-alike still did not cease to exist, and this time, he actually did something beyond Naruto's wildest imagination.

"Uhm.. Can you stop doing that?" the copy scratched his cheeks nervously, imitating what the original always did when he found himself in these sorts of situations. "It kinda tickles, ya' know."

If a pin were to drop right now, it could be heard miles away. Naruto could only stare, and promptly froze like a deer in the headlights in response to the totally unexpected turn of events._ 'Huh. Did my Bunshin just..?'_ He blinked owlishly, but inside he was shaking his head vehemently. _'No, no, no, no! I must be imagining stuff. That had to be it... right? Right?' _

Complete silence reigned in the apartment room for a good five seconds. The other clone took note of his befuddled expression, and decided to snap him out of it. Naruto was vaguely aware when a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders and began shaking them lightly, making him turn and look numbly at the clone responsible.

"Uh.. you okay?" said clone looked at the original with his big blue eyes in concern, and when he still did not receive any sort of verbal response from Naruto whose mouth was gaping right now, he reached forward and gave one of his cheeks a quick tug. "Please say something? Anything? Hey!"

That successfully snapped Naruto out of his stupor, and he did the only one thing that was perfectly natural for a ten-year-old boy for the moment.

"Y-You talked! You really talked!" Naruto yelped, and he did not even realize it when he fell onto the spot where he had been standing. His sudden actions had apparently taken his clones by surprise – as one, they had yelped too. After the initial shock had worn off, or at least most of it had, an awkward silence ensued. The three blonds looked at one another oddly, before the original finally found his voice to speak. Touching his left cheek where it was pinched earlier, Naruto went on, his mind working furiously for an explanation, "No way.. You guys are real, solid clones?"

His clones stared blankly at him for a second, unsure with the idea and they tried moving around the room, touching various objects as they went and then feeling themselves over. As this happened, Naruto noticed something else which was strange about his duplicates.

Shadow. They had shadows beneath their feet. Then it hit him. '_This… isn't Bunshin no Jutsu.._'

"…Um… yeah, I think you're right, boss," one of Naruto's clones who was currently thumping himself experimentally on the chest chose this moment to answer the original's question from earlier.

"Boss?" Naruto wondered aloud, but a second later realized that it was probably his copies' way to address him, the original. Though it did sound a little strange, Naruto did not mind; he had a more pressing matter to find out at the moment.

A mere minute later, all three identical blonds found themselves sitting in a circle around the scroll, their blue eyes squinting in concentration to check whether they had missed any important details. It was only now that one of Naruto's clones spotted something that needed the others' attention. Pointing to the seemingly blank space before the words Bunshin no Jutsu, he said, "Look, I think there's something here. It looks like there's another word in front."

"Hey! You're right!" his other copy interjected, agreeing at the observation, and soon Naruto found himself nodding as well as he peered closer to the place where the others were pointing at. It was faint, almost completely faded, so it was no wonder the blond did not manage to catch the word in at his first glance when he was in the library earlier. And not to mention he was dazed after the scroll had landed on him, too, but that was beside the point now.

The trio squinted closer to try figuring out what it was, and eventually the original Naruto managed to make out the word in question after straining his eyes for a few seconds. And the word was...

"Kage…" Naruto murmured, getting his doppelgangers' attentions as they turned towards him. The original blond looked thoughtful for a moment before the realization hit him. "So which means… this is Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?"

* * *

**_~End Chapter 4~_**

_That's all about Chapter 4. My main purpose of writing this chapter was for Naruto to learn the Kage Bunshin, of course, besides introducing bits of little plots here and there and some details about Sasuke. Frankly speaking, to me, Naruto just isn't Naruto without his shadow clones. And have any of you seen the new Naruto movie by the way? I have a feeling it'll be really epic!_

_Glossary:_

_Hi no Kuni - Country of Fire_

_Hope you enjoyed reading, stay tuned for the next one!_

_BlackSpike91 out~_


	5. Chapter 5 Of Toads and Ramen

_**Some words from the Author:**_

_Here comes Chapter 5!_

_I've prepared a glossary at the end of the chapter too, for some terms in this chapter which some of you might not understand. Enjoy!_

_Soundtrack for the flashback scene: __http : (slash)(slash) www . youtube . com (slash) watch?v=x4TLj1Kwo4Q_

_____Simply remove all the spacings and replace (slash) with a ' / '_

* * *

**Chapter 5 Of Toads and Ramen**

* * *

_**Roughly a week later, Early Morning, Training Ground Two**_

"I think you'll need to move your hands a little bit more to the left, boss," a voice similar to his own called, and Naruto turned to clone responsible for more explanation. Said clone, who was currently holding the _Shinobi Taijutsu Basics,_ pointed to a particular picture showing a stance the original was currently trying out, and Naruto leaned over to get a better look.

"Ah, you're right," the blond-haired preteen nodded, scratching one of his cheeks sheepishly in acknowledgement of his earlier mistakes. "One more time, I'm sure I'll have it this time."

Wiping away some sweat on his forehead with the lower hem of his black shirt, Naruto grinned, before sliding back into the particular stance again, making sure he mimicked the movements illustrated in the book as closely as possible. "Okay, what about this?"

The two _Kage Bunshin_ he had called forth circled the original to help checking for any more mistakes they could find, all the while comparing his posture to the one in the book. Upon finding none, the Naruto look-alikes grinned widely with one of them giving him a thumbs-up, while the other looked at him with an excited spring in his steps.

"Hey, can I try doing that stance too?"

Naruto blinked at his rather eager clone, who was still sporting a big grin on his face. It had felt rather weird talking to himself at the beginning, but he was already getting quite used to it by now. Grinning back, Naruto nodded. "Sure, go ahead…"

The _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_, in Naruto's humble opinion, was a very interesting ninjutsu indeed. Ever since he had gotten it down on that fateful night, the ten-year-old had roughly figured out what he could do with his solid clones, but not without going through a few days of trial and errors, of course. Though, the blond decided not to tell anyone about his mastery over the technique.. yet.

As each shadow clone had a mind of their own, they made great companions when he needed to brainstorm ideas, and really came in handy during his taijutsu practice especially when Lee was not around; Naruto could always try out a few of the grappling moves described in the book whenever he wanted with the help of his solid duplicates, sometimes with him being the one subjected to the move by his clones and he would try figuring out ways to either escape or counter it. After all, what good would it be if he could only use the moves but know nothing about their weak points?

The _Kage Bunshin_ was particularly useful for sparring purposes too, and Naruto would make sure to create at least an observer to watch whenever he would spar with one or more of his other clones. The boy would ask if the observer clones notice anything wrong with his moves and suggestions for improvements after he was done sparring. Another interesting fact he had discovered was that despite the _Kage Bunshin_ being his copies, they hit just as _hard_ as he could. Heck, they could even use his ninjutsu against him during spars.

Sometimes, whenever he felt like kicking things up a few notches, Naruto would challenge himself in an all-out brawl against his clones with their chakra weights removed. This gave them a huge advantage over the original, which as a result left Naruto sporting a couple more bruises and a lot more physically drained than usual, so he made it a point to only do it on weekends when he had ample time to rest up his body. The blond had even gotten himself a pair of black shinobi slacks which was better suited and more durable for these sorts of training; he had been mindful of the damage done to his normal clothes after the first few spars, and tried to avoid spending any more of his savings to replace them.

"All right, guys!" the blond waved to get his two clones' attention. "Let's do it over and over again until we're good!"

"Ossu!"

* * *

The academy class for today went on pretty much normally so far, with Shikamaru sleeping through most of the boring lecture and Chouji munching on his favourite barbeque-flavored potato chips as usual. The main topic of the morning was focused about the major clans in Konoha and a brief introduction to their bloodline abilities, something which, to Naruto, was very very fascinating.

"The Hyuga clan's _kekkei genkai , _the all-seeing Byakugan gives an almost complete field of vision around them," Iruka explained, before looking at Hinata in particular. "Would you kindly share a little more information about your clan's _doujutsu_, Hinata?"

"H-Hai," the shy girl stood up nervously. Her cheeks reddened as she felt every pair of eyes in the class landed heavily on her, and the feeling only intensified when she noted Naruto was looking at her with an expression akin to awe; the blond had known that the Hyuga clan possessed a powerful _kekkei genkai_ all along, but he never knew what it could actually _do_. "The Byakugan a-also gives the ability to see great distances and through o-objects, as well as a person's c-chakra circulation system."

Naruto scribbled down the details as Hinata mentioned them, his awe towards his Hyuga friend had just gone up to another level. Iruka nodded in approval at her explanation, "Thank you, Hinata. Now, being able to see the chakra system also means a Hyuga could easily determine whether a person is under the effects of a genjutsu. Remember that, class."

"That's really neat, Hinata!" Naruto grinned as the girl in question sat down, "I didn't know you can do awesome stuff like that."

"B-But I still h-hadn't awakened my Byakugan yet," Hinata blushed a deeper scarlet at the compliment, but nevertheless allow an expression of disappointment to dawn across her face.

"You will. I'm sure you can do it!" Naruto gave her a reassuring smile, silently cheering her on. And Hinata was grateful for it. Iruka nodded approvingly at the boy's optimistic words, and like usual, he swept his eyes across the classroom for any inquiries, pausing when he saw one Haruno Sakura raising her hand confidently.

"Yes, Sakura?"

"The Sharingan can detect genjutsu as well, right?" the pinkette stood up and asked confidently. Iruka looked intrigued at Sakura's level of intellect as always, and he nodded in confirmation.

"That's correct. And is there anything else that you'd like to share about the Sharingan? Maybe Sasuke can correct us if you make any mistakes. Give it a try," Iruka prompted, not realizing it would be one of the biggest mistakes he had made. At that comment, Sakura looked ready to blurt out everything she knew about the Uchiha _kekkei genkai_ to show how thorough she had researched on the information about her crush.

"The Sharingan is a _doujutsu_ belonging to the Uchiha clan," Sakura began excitedly, "And allows them to see the flow of chakra as well. I've heard some Sharingan users could even copy any ninjutsu they see! Oh, also, one of the biggest prodigy from the clan was.. uh… Uchiha Itachi! But we all know you're better, right, Sasuke-kun?"

At those words, the temperature in the class dropped several degrees, and Iruka inwardly winced, wondering how Sakura had managed to get that particular nugget of sensitive information since the rest of the Uchiha clan were.. well, _gone_ for some time. Every head turned towards the boy in question when the crunching noise of a pencil breaking alerted them, and Naruto quickly noticed the dark, shadowy look descending on Sasuke's face the moment the second last sentence left Sakura's mouth. He had to admit, he had never seen such a reaction from the usually calm Uchiha.

Sasuke's face was downcast, his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were turning white under his desk, and although the dark-haired boy remained silent, the unusual sight had startled Naruto somewhat. No, the blond was not afraid, but rather, he was concerned. Sakura's words must have really hit a nerve, or several _nerves_. '_I.. I've never seen him so angry..._'

"T-Thank you, Sakura. Please sit down," Iruka quickly interjected, determined to change the mood before she could say anything else which could bring more harm than good. He decided it was better to put a stop to any further discussion about the Sharingan for the time being. With a blank look, Sakura sat back on her seat like a lost puppy, wondering if she had said something wrong earlier.

The remainder of the lecture was spent on discussing other clans, and Naruto found himself very intrigued when Iruka had asked several of the other students who belonged to great clans to demonstrate a little bit of their abilities.

"It's a very rare occurrence for the heirs of all major clans to be assembled in a single class like this," the scarred instructor explained.

Kiba, representing the Inuzuka clan proudly proved that he indeed had perfect communication with his ninken, Akamaru by asking the white puppy to perform a series of almost acrobatic-like flips flawlessly and then shake hands with some his friends using its front paw, Naruto included, much to the the blond-haired boy's delight as he scratched behind one of the ninken's ears gently.

"You must be really good with animals," Kiba commented, chuckling as the furry white mass nuzzled and tried to lick Naruto's face off, sending the blond into a giggling fit. "Akamaru says he likes you." Most females in the class found the harmless-looking puppy very adorable, and a few even hugged the poor ninken like what one would do to a plush toy until it was nearly turning green, much to the Inuzuka's horror. _'Poor Akamaru..'_

Shino, on the other hand tried to demonstrate an Aburame's control over his insects by silently commanding them to form various words, and while Naruto thought it was pretty interesting, most of his classmates did not share the blond's sentiments — a few of them shrieked — the moment a small horde of the beetle-looking bugs came buzzing out under Shino's coat. Though, Iruka took this opportunity to interject, "Class, the Aburame clan's _Kikaichū _insects are not to be taken lightly, you know. Their abilities to deliver secret messages during times of crisis are invaluable. Do you have anything more to share with the class, Shino?"

Said boy nodded politely and stood up, "_Kikaichū _are also chakra sensitive, making them beneficial for tracking and scouting purposes. There are rarer breeds with special abilities, but in general they aid us Aburame members in combat by siphoning chakra from our foes."

"Thank you," Iruka nodded in thanks to his student's explanation, before going on with the next clan on the textbook. Like usual, Naruto jolted down the information for his own reference, before making a note to check his dictionary for the meaning of 'siphoning' when he reached his apartment room later.

The class resumed with the Akimichi clan as the next topic of discussion, and although that Chouji could not use any of his clan's signature technique yet, he did mention that his clan took advantage of their larger size and sheer strength in combats. The chubby boy with swirly clan marks on his cheeks had also surprised the entire class with the amount of knowledge he knew about various food, herbs and their uses as well as nutritional values. Naruto made a mental note to ask him for some cooking tips, if he happened to know any.

"The Nara clan will be next on the list, and they specialize in using their shadows in combat," Iruka explained, eyes twitching as he looked at the only Nara in the class, who was still looking sleepy on his desk. The scarred teacher inwardly sighed. '_How unmotivated can Shikamaru be, if he's not even interested in hearing about his own clan? Geez..._' "Shikamaru, how about you try to tell us more about your clan?

A light yawn was the reply as the boy groggily woke up and stretched his arms over his head, much to Iruka's usual annoyance as he found himself twitching even more at his student's antics. Nevertheless, the lazy-looking Nara eventually stood up, scratching his black hair which oddly reminded Naruto the general outline of a pineapple. "Explaining will be a drag, so I'll show you instead... Sheesh.. So troublesome.."

_'What's with the Naras and their 'troublesome' catchphrase?'_ Iruka groaned inwardly.

Dragging his feet as if he had not slept for days, Shikamaru eventually made it to the front of the class after a full minute, much to the other's amusement and their teacher's growing tick mark on his forehead. Though, Naruto did not mind, being more interested at what his pineapple-haired classmate could do. Shikamaru might look extremely lazy and unmotivated, but Naruto's gut feeling told him the boy was a lot smarter then he appeared to be.

"Stay still, Iruka-sensei," the lazy Nara looked at his teacher with a face that simply said 'troublesome', before he began running through unique handseals and muttering the name of his clan's signature technique.

"Kagemane no Jutsu. (_Shadow Imitation Technique_)"

From what Naruto could see, Shikamaru's shadow literally extended like a spear towards his teacher, and merged into the older man's larger shadow like a puddle of ink when it came into contact. Before Iruka could start explaining, though, he suddenly found himself in a funny position very uncharacteristic of him, mirroring the Nara's exact posture.

The entire class was silent for a good second, gawking and blinking at the scene before many of them doubled over and burst out laughing. Hinata was trying so hard to control herself from doing anything similar in front of her blond-haired friend, but her efforts only made her looking more awkward with strangled, mouse-like squeaks escaping from her pinched lips, though in a rather adorable manner.

Even Naruto twitched, biting his lips and finding it ridiculously hard not to clamp a hand over his nose and snickered a little out of reflex; he had never imagined seeing something like this from his big brother figure. Yes, the ever strict Iruka-sensei, the very same person famed for his Big Head Jutsu... squatting down with his hands flapping on the sides of his head like a pair of bunny ears. And not to mention that horror-struck expression the teacher had on his face, too. It was absolutely priceless! Oh, how Naruto wished he had a camera ready right now!

Hugging his stomach tightly, the blond tried suppressing his mirth with so much effort that tears were starting at the corners of his eyes, but only to fail miserably when Shikamaru shifted to an even more awkward posture a moment later, jamming a finger into his nose this time. Naruto's funny-bone could only handle so much, and this was the first time he had laughed so hard in his life; the Uzumaki boy almost ran out of breath in the process, so to speak. _'Sorry, Iruka-sensei. But it's just... just too much to hold in!'_

Behind him, even the ever calm Shino were literally shaking on his shoulders, though only slightly, but no one could see the carefully hidden expression behind his ever-present round shades and the high collar of his coat. In the end, the scarred teacher himself had eventually joined in laughing at his own situation too, so Naruto did not feel so guilty. Harmless fun was quite all right, after all.

'_So the target copies whatever movements Shikamaru's doing.. That's really cool!' _Naruto could not help but feel a tiny spark of jealously rising inside him._ 'I wish I could do that!_'

No sooner than that, the bell rang, so Iruka had to dismiss the class despite not being able to explain about the last clan in Konoha, namely the Yamanaka clan. This ended with a pouting Yamanaka Ino moping about how disappointed she was to not be able to show her Uchiha crush what she was able to do, but Iruka assured her she would have her chance to shine in the following class. Speaking of the Uchiha, though, Sasuke was the first one to leave, no, _stormed_ out of the class as soon as it ended that day, much to the others' surprise; the boy with duckbutt hair was usually in no hurry.

Naruto's spontaneous response was to quickly pull on his backpack and go after his dark-haired friend out of concern, but Sasuke's actions clearly screamed that he needed some time by himself to cool down. Being an orphan himself, the blond tend to understand the feeling quite well.

_'Sasuke.. I hope he'll be okay,'_ Naruto bit his lips, a trace of of worry seeping through him. He then brightened up a little. _'Well, if he's still mad tomorrow, I'll try cheering him up by.. I dunno, maybe he'd want a spar? Or-'_ However, before the blond's thoughts could go any further, a timely call of his name from behind made him pause halfway in midstep.

"Ah, Naruto!" Iruka called his name again as the boy in question turned over to face him, confusion evident on his eyes. "Sandaime-sama wants to see you in his office."

"Right now?" Naruto raised a blond eyebrow. "Jiji said that?"

"Yes, right now. And it's 'Sandaime-sama', or 'Hokage-sama'," The scarred teacher admonished, wagging his index finger in disapproval while inwardly he was trying to uphold his image as an academy instructor by not folding himself over and snickering at the nickname. It never ceased to make him wonder how his little brother figure could address one of most powerful shinobi in existence with such straightforwardness, and with such an innocent face too. "By the way, Naruto, how's your Bunshin no Jutsu coming along? It may be very important for your graduation exam coming next year, you know."

In truth, Naruto had kept trying the normal clone technique even after mastering the more impressive _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_, but to no avail. Regardless, he flashed Iruka a big grin like he usually did. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to surprise you then, Iruka-sensei!"

"Okay, if you say so.." Iruka sighed inwardly at his little brother figure, but believed in him nevertheless. _'I hope he's doing all right.'_

After bidding a quick goodbye to his teacher and Hinata, the blond hurried towards his next destination, all the while wondering what the Sandaime need him for.

* * *

The prominent Hokage tower situated in the heart of the village was difficult for anyone to miss by, the structure easily peeking over the tops of the nearby buildings. Inside, the lady receptionist was as unfriendly as ever towards him – one reason why Naruto had disliked going to the place. Nevertheless, he still nodded politely at her when she begrudgingly let him pass through, after verifying that the Sandaime was indeed expecting his presence.

Along the way to the Hokage's office, Naruto glanced at the impressive woodworks on the walls, admiring their beauty. It had been a while since he had visited, after all. For some reasons, Naruto always felt a soothing sense of calmness whenever he saw one sculpture in particular - the one of a majestic wooden dragon perching above its stand at one corner. The woodwork, like usual, looked so alive as if it were a sentient sentry of sorts, and the array of leaves decorating it only made everything more breathtaking. Iruka-sensei had told him it was a masterpiece by the Shodaime Hokage when he asked about it once, created using the latter's unique Mokuton ninjutsu. In no time at all, Naruto found himself standing in front of the imposing double door entrance. The blond took a deep breath, raised his knuckle and gave the varnished hardwood surface a couple of quick raps.

"Enter." The familiar, wizened voice came from within the office, and Naruto went inside, the doors swinging easily open on well-greased hinges.

The Hokage's office was practically the same as far as Naruto could remember – being a spacious, circular room, with a row of clear windows lining the walls which granted the Sandaime a full view of the village any time he wanted. At one end of the room was a rather large bookcase easily thrice Naruto's height, filled to the brim with an assortment of complicated-looking books and scrolls. To complete the office look, a large, brown desk made of sturdy oak wood stood proudly in the middle, effortlessly withstanding the weights of several thick stacks of paperwork above it. A small banner with the kanji for 'Kage' as well a stylized leaf symbol _____________—_ Konoha's insignia could be seen clearly from the front.

"Ah, Naruto. Good timing," Hiruzen smiled warmly as he noticed the boy he considered a second grandson entered the room and looked at him. "Now, I believe you're wondering why you're here?" When Naruto nodded curiously, the old man continued. "Right, there's someone I'd like you to meet today, and he should be here right about_________—_"

Before the Hokage could finish his sentence, he shifted from his comfortable seat with swiftness that belied his age, leaving just enough space as a red and white blur came crashing through an open window behind him. Just behaving like a ten-year-old should, Naruto was started momentarily by the new arrival and took a reflexive step backwards, watching as the dust cloud clear just enough for him to see anything else about this person.

The Sandaime sighed. "_________—_now.___"_

The newcomer was nothing short of eccentric. Waist-length, spiky white hair was tied in a ponytail flowed freely behind his back, with two shoulder-length bangs framing both sides of his face. This geta-wearing, giant of a man was donned in a green, short shirt kimono and matching pants; under which was a mesh armor that showed out of their sleeves and legs. A red haori with two simple yellow circles on each side was worn over his clothes, but the most eye-catching feature on first glance would be the large scroll hanging horizontally behind his waist.

Swallowing a little nervously, Naruto dared himself a little closer for a better look. From what the blond could see, the man also had a long, tear-like crimson line running down each of his eyes, and wore a horned forehead protector sporting the kanji for 'Oil' instead of the usual Konoha insignia Naruto had gotten used to seeing. If the preteen were to watch even closer, he would no doubt be able to make out reddish imprints on the man's cheeks that seemed suspiciously like… slap marks?

"Uhh, y-you are…" Naruto was so caught in the moment that he failed to realize his lips had parted to form words, a little timidly due to stunned confusion. Truth be told, he was unsure of what he should make out of the person in front of him.

"Hm? Why yes, I am _the_…" the weirdly-dressed man nodded a little too smugly, his eyes closed in anticipation and arms crossed over, giving anyone an impression that he was expecting the blond-haired boy to have heard of his legend. Though, the awestruck and admiration-filled response he was waiting for never came, and in fact, it was completely the opposite.

"Who are you?"

"Noooo_oooo!_" At the innocent question, the man gave a disbelieving groan and promptly face-faulted, dramatic tears bursting from his eyes as he thrust a trembling finger at Naruto's direction —this caused the blond to shrink away a little— before turning over to the aged Hokage, who was chuckling heartily at the spectacle from his spot behind the desk. It almost seemed like the old leader was expecting something like this to happen.. which he did, in all honesty.

"What kind of crap are they teaching in the academy nowadays, Sarutobi-sensei? How could this kid not know of someone as awesome and legendary as _me_?" the man said with comical anger in his tone before he was facing Naruto again.

"Language," Hiruzen admonished curtly as if the white-haired man were a petulant child, but nevertheless chuckled at his question. "Hmm.. maybe they haven't covered that particular topic yet."

"Nevermind. Listen well, I'll only say this once!" the man huffed, and gave a great swing of his white hair for added effect, before smirking and settling into a humorous-looking, kabuki stance with his left arm extended forward and showing his open palm while his other arm extended backwards in a similar fashion. To Naruto, though, the man looked as if he was trying to balance himself on a surfboard or something. The ten-year-old was not sure either he should sweatdrop or feel confused by the man's display, so he ended up settling a little of both. _'Jiji sure knows some strange people.'_

"I'll have you know, kid, that I'm famously known as Gama-Sennin — the almighty toad sage from the valleys of Myobokuzan, remember it!" the white-haired, elderly man began dramatically as he went through a few more poses, grinning all the while. "In the east, west, south and north they call me a legend whose awesomeness so great that I could even silence a crying child! Men admire me, women swoon all over me! Behold, I'm Sarutobi-sensei's best pupil, as well as one of the _Densetsu no Sannin_, the handsome and gallant and–"

"Just call him Jiraiya," the Sandaime finally sighed, and clapped an aged hand over his wrinkled forehead with exasperation before the newly identified man could get too far ahead of himself, at the same time ignoring an indignant "Hey!" from the same person. Snickering good-naturedly at the funny scene, Naruto only nodded dumbly at the Sandaime, before turning to look at Jiraiya, who was without a doubt still glowering somewhat childishly at the earlier interruption to his awe-inspiring self introduction.

"Jiji, so he's the person I'm supposed to meet?"

The Hokage nodded as though nothing sounded out of place, bringing his trusty blackwood pipe to his lips and sighing contently as he released a ring cloud of steam. Though, unknown to both him and Naruto, the third occupant in the room looked as if a massive thunderbolt had struck him right there and then.

'_J-Ji-Jiji!? Did he just call Sarutobi-sensei Jiji? In the face and gets away with it!?'_ Jiraiya's astonished stare became a gawk, his jaw literally dropping all the way to the floor in speechless awe by the casual way Naruto had addressed the Hokage. _'It's official, I like this kid!'_

Of course, Hiruzen ignored his student's reaction. The professor would never openly admit it, but the term 'Jiji' was kind of suitable for him, well, he was _old_. Though, when he gave Jiraiya a stern look, the man quickly got into business mode, all his earlier antics seemingly gone.

"Despite how he acts, my foolish student here is an expert in _fūinjutsu_," Hiruzen explained, and with a single wave of his arms, he could feel the few Anbu under his direct command outside his office dismissed themselves without a sound, leaving the trio in complete privacy. Though, he could have sworn the masked protectors had been snickering moments ago. "And I'd like him to have a look at the seal holding back the Kyuubi, to make sure it was still functioning properly."

'_So that's what I'm here for…'_

Naruto was silent for two long seconds as the words registered, and with an almost silent exhale from his mouth, he nodded nervously; it seemed to be a much better idea, as a part of him was really worried that he would suddenly lost control like before, and the last thing he would ever want happening was to accidentally injure any of his precious people with the fox's demonic chakra.

'_If Sandaime-jiji trusts this Jiraiya person.. then it should be okay for me to believe him too. But…. a visible seal?'_ It was only then that Naruto started wondering. He had never seen any seals on any parts of his skin before, not even when he was taking a shower._ 'Uhh.. maybe these whisker marks are the seal all along?'_ He mused, one hand reaching up to touch the thin lines on his cheeks.

"Relax, I'll tell you what to do," Jiraiya quickly stated upon seeing Naruto's increasingly bewildered expression, and gave a gentle squeeze on the boy's shoulders. When Naruto had calmed down considerably, he grinned. "Now then, let's get started."

* * *

_**One minute later...**_

'_This feels kinda…. awkward_.' The blond-haired boy swallowed lightly. Having taken off his black tee shirt a short moment ago as requested by the self-proclaimed toad Sannin, Naruto was currently standing in only his knee-length shorts and chakra weights, baring the entire of his upper body in full view to the other two occupants inside the Hokage office. Eyes closed and hands clasping together in a ram seal, he was currently concentrating on channeling his chakra to his stomach as instructed.

Nothing seemed to happen at first, but soon, a slight burning sensation spreading below his chest caused Naruto to open his eyes. Looking down, the boy panicked for an instant to see a black spiral pattern surrounded by intricate black symbol markings suddenly spring to life on his stomach, centering on his navel. It had looked rather simple yet so complicated at the same time, and for the next few seconds, the blond stood enthralled by its design.

'_So this.. is the seal that binds Kyuubi inside me?' _Naruto studied the seal a little longer, and his expression slowly turned into one of awe. How could something as small as that hold back the greatest of the tailed beasts? It was definitely mind-boggling.

"Hard to believe, isn't it? The capability of sealing arts," Jiraiya gave a knowing look as if he could sense what the blond was thinking. Squatting down, he peered closer to get a better view of the seal markings on Naruto's abdomen, giving each detailed stroke a long once-over. "Now, don't stop molding chakra to your stomach and hold still while I'm checking the seal. It'll be over in a couple of minutes, trust me."

Still looking at his seal, the Uzumaki preteen only nodded, albeit a little stiffly. "'Kay."

The Sannin's words had a soothing effect on Naruto, and for reasons beyond his comprehension, the blond felt as if he had some inexplicable special attachment to this person, somehow. Though, deciding that he was probably overthinking things, he ignored the fleeting thoughts and focused on the task at hand. The ten-year-old watched in fascination as the tip of Jiraiya's index finger began to glow a soothing blue, before he guided the warm feeling gently a seemingly random area of the seal and observing it intently. The entire process was repeated on other parts on the seal with Jiraiya nodding to himself, and all Naruto could feel was occasional ticklish sensations on his stomach.

"We're almost done, just bear with me for a little bit longer," Jiraiya reassured as he noticed Naruto was started getting a little fidgety from all the light prodding on his stomach. At last, after a final scrutiny, the toad sage nodded again and stood back up.

"It's done. The seal is still functioning properly as it should," he said with a final, satisfied nod. "The Yondaime's sealing work is as reliable as usual."

At that statement, the Sandaime let out a sigh of relief. Naruto, too, let go of the breath he had been holding and allowed his shoulders to visibly relax. The blond-haired boy was simply happy that there was nothing he needed to worry about. All was good. The moment Naruto stopped channeling his chakra, he watched in fascination as the black markings gradually faded from existence until it was just his bare skin again.

_'Oh, so the seal only comes up when I channel chakra to my stomach.' _

Still sporting his relieved expression, Naruto promptly collected his shirt from where he had left it on the clean floorboards, and pulled it back down over his head. Taking this chance while the boy was not looking, Jiraiya quickly withdrew a small slip of paper and placed it noiselessly on the desk. Hiruzen nodded wordlessly, knowing it contained all his former student's findings about what he had requested a couple of weeks ago relating to _Otogakure no Sato_.

"Before I forget, I believe an apology is in order for calling you here on such short notice, Naruto," Hiruzen smiled warmly at the boy as he finished dressing himself. "I know, since you've obviously not eaten yet, how about Jiraiya bringing you out for lunch?"

He chuckled as Naruto visibly perked up at the offer, as the boy turned to look at the white-haired Sannin, who shrugged and then grinned. The other motive of Jiraiya's brief visit in Konoha was also to get to know Naruto better, anyway, and since his former teacher had just created the chance for him… why not take it?

"Fine by me. Do you have any place in mind? My treat."

"Sure!" Naruto grinned back excitedly, picking up his academy backpack. "I know just the place!"

* * *

'_So this is what Naruto has to go through every day?'_ Jiraiya inwardly winced as Naruto lead him to the place he had in mind for lunch, the boy all the while avoiding the open, hateful gaze from the villagers. Some who recognized the former greeted him politely, but whatever respect Jiraiya had towards their polite gestures vanished the moment he found them glaring contemptuously at his blond-haired charge. It was as if they were hoping that if they glared hard enough, the boy would just suddenly burst into flames or something. What fools.

'_I should've used Henge no Jutsu..'_ Naruto stemmed the urge to sigh as he forcefully averted his eyes from yet another glaring villager. He had to put up with them every day, and it was not as if today would be any different. Though, when he saw the Sannin promptly glared right back at the unfriendly onlookers, Naruto was genuinely surprised. He honestly did not expect someone he had known just barely an hour ago could be so protective over him. Not to mention the man's actions also made him feel safe and rather warm inside his chest, somehow. The blond really appreciated it.

"Naruto," Jiraiya watched as the blond turned to look at him with a grateful-looking smile. It was the first time Jiraiya had called him by his name instead of just 'kid' ever since they had met, so the boy in question was inwardly feeling… acknowledged, in a sense. "Since you've known more or less about me from just now, why not tell me a little about yourself?"

"Umm.." Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment, but he did not know where to begin, so he ended up answering with another question instead. "What do you want to know about me, Jiraiya-san?"

"Well… " It was now Jiraiya's turn to look thoughtful, the man scratching under his chin. Nevertheless, he decided to ask the first thing he could think of to get the conversation going, even if it was a simple one. "How about what you've learnt during your academy class today?"

Naruto's lips spread into a wide grin at the question. With great enthusiasm, he began recounting all the interesting stuff he could remember from that morning about Konoha's famous clans. Jiraiya listened with rapt attention as the boy went through the details rather animatedly, chuckling as he got to the juicy part where Shikamaru made his teacher into doing various funny poses using the Nara's unique shadow imitation technique.

"Though, I've been thinking, well…" the ten-year-old look at the older man curiously as a sudden thought sprung to mind, his blue eyes filling with something akin to.. silent hope? Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at the blond's uncertain expression, but nevertheless waited patiently for him to ask away.

"I.. I know this might sound silly of me, but does the Uzumaki actually have a clan or anything like that?" Naruto spoke his mind, albeit a little hesitantly. "I mean… I… do I belong to a clan?"

Slightly astounded, Jiraiya looked contemplative for a moment before his expression turned unreadable, inwardly thinking it over whether it was a good or bad thing to satisfy the boy's curiosity. Obviously mistaking the man's countenance for something else, a part of Naruto almost regretted asking the question, now half-expecting the Toad Sannin to burst out laughing at the sheer idiocy of it later; after all, a random orphan like himself could never have belonged to anything close to a clan.

_'Though, if that's gonna be the case...'_ Naruto bit his lips, eyeing the ground sadly. _'I'd just have to put on a big grin as if nothing's wrong, as usual.'_

After a few more seconds of silence, Jiraiya put his answer bluntly.

"..Yeah. In fact, you do."

Naruto stopped abruptly in his tracks. It took three whole seconds for the words to sink in completely, and..

_'Wh-What?'_ He blinked and looked at the Sannin right behind him with widened eyes, pure surprise and disbelief written all over his features. Whatever response he had been expecting, this was definitely at the very end of the list. "I… I have a clan?" He swallowed deeply, wanting to make sure his ears were not playing tricks on him. "The U-Uzumaki clan? For real?"

Nodding and looking slightly amused, Jiraiya pointed to the red swirl design on Naruto's shirt as he went on, "That is actually the symbol of Uzumaki, in fact, and your clan's most famous for their mastery over _fūinjutsu_, as well as their incredibly strong life force. Though, that's all I know about them. Ever notice why your wounds heal faster than others and how they don't leave behind any scars?"

Naruto nodded numbly in realization; so the healing factor was an innate blessing of his clan's ability and not the Kyuubi's, even if the fox did help to enhance it a little. A wide grin tugged itself on his lips as he smoothed his hand over the insignia on his shirt, before thanking the Sannin gratefully for the information.

_'I.. I've been wearing my own clan's symbol all along, but.. I've never heard of another Uzumaki here,'_ Naruto inwardly wondered, and then smiled. _'Maybe.. maybe my clan's staying somewhere else outside Konoha. That's got to be it!'_

"I hope…" Smiling a tad wider, Naruto looked skywards with a faraway expression. "I really hope I'll get to meet my clan people one day."

'_I do hope so too…. if there's still any of them around.._' Jiraiya sighed sadly in his mind. Truthfully, the toad hermit knew a lot more than he was letting on, but he refrained himself from going any further on the matter. Well, especially since the untold information he had on his mind concerning the Uzumaki clan would really ruin Naruto's good mood – something which was definitely not one of Jiraiya's best intentions at the moment. _'It'll be up to Naruto to find out about his own clan when he grows up,'_ he finally decided.

"Ne, Jiraiya-san?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"Jiji says you're a sealing expert, right?" Naruto wanted confirmation, recalling their earlier conversation in the Hokage's office. When Jiraiya nodded, the blond swallowed nervously, but decided to take this opportunity to ask; after all, who knew when he would get to see the toad Sannin again? This chance was to good to pass up. _'It's now or never.'_

"C-could you… well.." Naruto paused, and took a deep breath to muster his courage. Squeezing his eyes shut, he clapped his palms together and bent slightly forward in a stiff bow, clearly requesting a favor. "Could you teach me _fūinjutsu_? Please?"

This time, the Sannin was taken aback by the suddenness of the question, and he could easily see how desperate Naruto wanted to get a step closer to his clan, to have something to relate himself with the Uzumakis, to be a part of them. Jiraiya could not blame him, considering what the boy had gone through.

Naruto waited with bated breath as the seconds tickled by. Nervously, he cracked a blue eye open, then the other, noting the pensive look gracing the older man's countenance.

"Hmm... you know what? Maybe I could, but only when you're at least a Genin," Jiraiya said carefully after a while, rubbing his chin in thought. "Meanwhile, you can try digging the library achieves for some basics to start with. Also, you'll need to put tons of efforts on your calligraphy- uh, i mean handwriting before you can even draw a seal properly."

"Then... then..." Naruto's heart did a leap inside his chest; he could hardly believe what he had just heard, his voice barely containing the hope that had seeped into his core. "You promise?"

Jiraiya found it very difficult to turn Naruto down, not with that extremely hopeful expression plastered on the boy's face. Grinning, he nodded curtly. "Yeah, and while we're on it, I might even teach you a very cool jutsu, but only if you work hard. And I mean really, _really_ _hard_. Think you can do that?"

That excitement made Naruto tingle, and resisting the urge to pump a fist in joy, he nodded vigorously. "I definitely will, you'll see! Thank you.. thank you so much!"

The rest of the walk was done in a comfortable silence, with Naruto thinking about the new information over his head until they had finally reached their destination after a couple of minutes' walk – an average looking, humble ramen restaurant by the name of Ichiraku Ramen. Lifting one of the curtain-like flaps as he went in, Naruto noticed they were the only customers around; it had been an hour past lunch time, after all. Jiraiya entered a second later.

"Hey, Teuchi-occhan!" Naruto greeted happily, and got himself seated on a stool at the corner, motioning excitedly for Jiraiya to sit beside him. The elderly ramen chef was sporting his ever jovial smile like always, wearing his usual white cooking robe that was rolled up at the sleeves and stretched down to his knees, as well as a similarly white chef cap to keep his hair from getting in the way when he would cook.

"Naruto!" Teuchi greeted happily, with Naruto grinning widely back. The former's eyes widened as he recognized the white-haired man sitting beside the boy. "J-Jiraiya-sama? It's an honor!"

"Naruto-kun's here?" A brown-haired lady poked her head out from the back kitchen door, absently drying a bowl with a washcloth. Naruto waved happily at her.

"Hi, Ayame-neechan!"

"I take it you'll be having the usual?" Teuchi enquired, getting a affirmative nod from his blond-haired customer before turning to Jiraiya. "And what about you, Jiraiya-sama? What can I get you?"

The white-haired Sannin seemed to ponder over the menu board, before he seemingly ordered a random dish of ramen from it. Teuchi jolted down the selection with a nod, smiling as he set about preparing the food.

"One extra large miso and one spicy prawn ramen, coming right up!"

Jiraiya took this chance to survey the area. For one thing, it was really clean and comfy here, which was good; it was way better than a lot of eateries he had come across during his travels. From the way Naruto was talking to them, the Sannin could not help but notice that the boy had a much deeper relationship with the old chef and his daughter, besides being their usual customer. He then idly wondered why the blond had chosen this place to eat, but later decided he did not mind; he had actually preferred a casual place like this one where he could really relax and enjoy his meal, and disliked going to expensive restaurants anyway.

'_Not to mention the girl from earlier had a pretty cute face too,_' he grinned lecherously to himself out of habit. Though, his little action went unnoticed to Naruto, who turned for a glance outside the entrance as soon as a series of soft pitter-patters resounded throughout the air.

"Oh, it started raining…" the blond mumbled to himself, too wrapped up in his thoughts that he did not even notice as the extra large bowl of his favorite miso-flavored ramen with roasted pork fillet was placed before him along with a glass of fresh orange juice. _'Just like that day.'_ Jiraiya's order came a few seconds later, and when he caught sight of Naruto's zoned out expression, he gently tapped a large hand over the boy's shoulder.

"Naruto?" he prompted, his face concerned as he tried jolting the blond out of whatever he was thinking. "Your food's here."

"A-ah! Sorry, I was just thinking... hehe.." Naruto immediately sat up straight, one hand scratching his cheek and grinning sheepishly as he did so. "Itadakimasu!"

With that, the Uzumaki's attention had been brought back to the present, but even as he picked up the chopsticks and dug into the noodles with his usual gutso, Naruto could not help but reveal a bittersweet smile as he let his mind wander back to the fateful day when he had first stumbled into this place. It happened years ago when he was only seven, but the drizzle and his presence here in Ichiraku Ramen brought it forth to the surface.

Unbeknownst to him, the old ramen chef and his daughter had the exact same thoughts too.

* * *

_**Uzumaki Naruto, Seven Years Old**_

_"Get your filthy food somewhere else, demon! Scram!"_

_A firm hand swung out and smacked Naruto harshly across the cheeks, the force behind it causing the blond to tumble painfully down to the ground below him. Disappointment filled Naruto's core to the brim as the old-looking stall owner glared and waved him away with a rude shooing motion like the others had, and the young boy hastily picked himself up before sidling away from the stand with whatever strength he had left in him, a dejected look adorning his face. _

'_I-It's okay,' Naruto bit back the stinging sensation behind his eyes and winced weakly, gingerly placing a hand against his aching cheek to numb the pain as he kept telling the same thing to himself. 'It's okay… At least… at least I've tried asking...' _

_It was getting quite late at night. The wind was picking up speed, and the temperature was slowly dropping by the minute. Chilly air ghosted uncaringly over Naruto's exposed skin with its clammy fingers, but he pushed on, hugging his arms and pulling his clothing closer to his body to keep himself warm. The blond did not have a choice - he was kicked out from the orphanage that morning without any explanation, carrying with him only a small, ragged-looking backpack containing what little clothing he had. In fact, they were actually just spares of what he was currently wearing. _

_Having eaten nothing since a plain piece of hard bread he considered breakfast, the seven-year-old boy was beyond hungry now. He tiredly moved his feet forward, half-stumbling as the limbs did not quite follow where he wanted them to go. Naruto groaned as his muscles ached from the 'lessons' some villages had given him __________—_ all he had been trying to ask for was just a small morsel of food, and he even did it in the most polite manner he could muster, but they... t_hey..._

_______"Get lost!"_

_______"Monster! Get outta here!"_

_______"Why did you come here, you pest!?"_

_Naruto chewed on his bottom lips hard at the memory, trying once again to suppress the burning sensation building behind his eyes. The blond thought it was bad enough when a big majority of the stall owners began to either chase or shout harshly at him to get lost before he could even make it within ten feet of their stalls, but no; some of them had to go as far as .. well.. roughing him up even after he tried apologizing for whatever reasons that might have caused them to be so mad at him. And those weren't the worst part yet ____________—_ along the way, an older boy tripped him for the fun of it when he was not paying attention, and to Naruto's dismay, the passing villagers had praised and even offered the bully a free treat for the 'good deed'... which he had promptly eaten right in front of the blond.

"_Somebody….. anyone..… p-please?…" Naruto rasped through parched throat as he wandered the street aimlessly, his normally expressive blue eyes looking dull with exhaustion. __Ugly, purplish bruises could be seen marring his skin where his over-sized shirt failed to cover him, the formerly white material littered with dirt, shoemarks and a couple of small rips._ In less than a dozen of steps away, a young couple with their child stood watching him. 

_Naruto's weary legs finally gave up on him after making a few weak steps. The blond collapsed from the fatigue, his face hitting the unforgiving cold ground with a thud, breathing hard and wincing as a few stray pebbles scraped painfully against his soft skin. Stomach growling, his movements were nothing more than feeble crawls now. The small family looked at him, unsure of what to do, and the boy could only whimper helplessly at the moment. _

_"…plea..se…" Naruto's voice came weakly, his hands trembling to support his weight as he struggled to push himself up... only to collapse once more. The blond's small body quivered as he tried to stall the tears that were __threatening to form in his eyes. ".. __I need... h-help…"_

_The child of the couple, a girl about his age with what seemed like pink hair was about to move towards him, and Naruto could feel his chest nearly burst with hope at that moment... until one of her parents grabbed her arm and pulled her away from him._

"_Hun, you mustn't," the man scolded. "Look, that boy.. he's nothing but trouble. Just keep away from him, 'kay?"_

_Naruto felt whatever hope he had earlier shattered like fragile glass __into a billion pieces_. The girl glanced at her parents curiously, "But Kaa-chan, Tou-chan… he's hurt.. and hungry. Shouldn't we help him?"

"_If he's anyone else, we should. But not him," the man shook his head, though his wife did not give any sorts of comment on the matter. "He doesn't deserve any." And as if that did not suffice, he muttered something even worse, in low tone but just loud enough for Naruto's ears to pick up. "He should be dead." _

_He should be dead._

_Like a never-ending echo, the man's cruel words twisted and rang painfully inside Naruto's brain for a good minute. The blue-eyed boy bit the insides of his cheeks hard, begging the salty tears to stay back, begging his voice not to cry out. He had been the receiving end of many nasty words for the duration of the day, but this.. this one was just too much... right?_

_It hurt. It all hurt_ so_ much as if someone had squeezed the tiny life out of his heart. Was this how he was destined to live? Was a little kindness too much to ask from the villagers? Naruto could not tell. It was as if he was worth nothing... absolutely nothing. Just a total waste of space. _

_'W-Why….?' _

_'Why.. is everyone so mean to me? Why do they all look at me with those eyes..?'_

Naruto asked himself over and over again, but could never find the answer. However, even when he was shaking like a leaf as small, quiet sobs racked his body, he dejectedly pushed onward on quaking hands, ignoring the rest of the conversation.

_'I'm no demon..'_

_Just as Naruto thought the night would not go any worse, it only got much rougher. Barely five minutes later, he could only look up in horror as something wet landed on his face; a drizzle had started. The relentlessly falling rain water seeped all the way through his clothes which did nothing to retain heat, the soggy fabric clinging and accentuating his small form, making him feel even colder than he should be. _

_The boy flinched in fear as white lightning forked overhead, and deafening peals of thunder bellowed soon after like a horde of hungry predators. Scared, confused, and hurt, Naruto could not remember how much time had passed as he continued dragging himself aimlessly through the street on his hands, praying desperately that he could find something edible to fill his stomach so he could move on to the next morning. _

_The young Uzumaki's hope was dimming, until… until he saw a faint light in the distance belonging to a small restaurant. It was probably the last eatery he could find for today, and if the faint light meant anything, it was that the stand would be closing anytime soon. Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm him, but Naruto refused to give up without a fight, the boy willing whatever small strength still left in him to move faster, albeit unsteadily._

_'I.. I can d-do this... Just.. a lil'.. bit more..'_

_He had almost made it! He was getting so close! It was just a couple of feet away, but not even a moment later, the lights in the paper lanterns went off, and the windows were closed with the curtains drawn shut. Naruto could not believe it. _

_Gone... His last hope of getting food for the night, gone..._

_Just like that._

_'No.. way...' Rain mingled with small tears and streamed down his bruised, whiskered cheeks as he drew his limbs closer for the never-coming warmth, laying there lost and broken as the elements continued to prey on whatever heat left on his small body. There was nothing else he could do. That was it, he would have to do without any food for the night. '__I was... so... so c-close...'_

_In all his disappointment, Naruto failed to catch the noise of a person emerging from the place, her left hand grabbing a large bag of what seemed to be rubbish and a bamboo umbrella in the other. She was humming a merry tune, obviously since business was pretty good today. Though, it was merely a few steps outside before her honey-brown eyes were drawn to the small, shivering form in front of her, his rain-soaked, spiky hair outlined only by the light from a lamp post nearby._

_'Wha..? A kid?' The trash bag she was carrying slipped unnoticed from her fingers as she took in the state Naruto was in, falling with a light thud beside her._

"_God… oh God.." she gasped, her free hand rising and covering her mouth disbelievingly at the scene before her. Naruto was confused when he could no longer feel the rain pelting the back of his head like endless barrages of icy needles, and he looked up timidly from his facedown position. Through blond, water-logged bangs, the child was surprised to see himself under the shade of something roundish ______—_ a bamboo umbrella belonging to a teenage girl. 

_Above a pair of black slippers was a white cooking robe with its long sleeves folded at the elbows, and a blue apron tied neatly around her waist hid most of her white pants from view. To complete the look, a brighter white bandanna covered the female's long, shoulder-length brown hair; a stark contrast to her fair, lightly-tanned skin. The young girl's equally brown eyes bore concernedly into Naruto's cerulean blue ones for a moment, but then a new voice broke in._

"_Ayame? Are you done throwing the rubbish?" A voice belonging to someone older – unmistakably a man's, came from inside the restaurant. _

_No reply came._

"_Ayame?" The voice sounded concerned now._

_Before long, Naruto could see the man getting out of the shop, and was right behind the girl, now identified as Ayame in a heartbeat. Noticing her daughter's stiff form with the bag of rubbish lying forgotten beside her, Ichiraku Teuchi had a look of worry across his face, wondering if something was wrong. _

"_Is everything all right?" the question jolted Ayame from her shocked expression, before she quickly pointed down to the poor boy in front of her with a shaky finger._

"_My God…" were the only words Teuchi managed to say when he looked at where his daughter was gesturing. _

_Naruto whimpered weakly from his position. A part inside him refused to let hope go, as he looked up pleadingly at the father and daughter before him. The boy struggled to say something, but his dry throat and chattering teeth from the coldness did not allow him to. Before anything else happened, though, Teuchi's paternal instinct kicked in, and Naruto was genuinely surprised when a pair of strong hands slid under his arms and gently scooped him up from the cold ground._

_If the old ramen chef was surprised at how light Naruto weighed on his arms, he did not show it. "Quick, let's move him inside," he urged, and his daughter followed him without a word. Naruto could hardly believe his luck. _

_He was saved... or at least he hoped so._

_Inside their cozy room above the small restaurant, Naruto was still feeling apprehensive around these two strangers. Though, after some coaxing and kind reassurances from the father and daughter, the boy hesitantly rid himself off his sodden clothes until he was wearing only his boxers. Teuchi and Ayame gasped as they took in the varying degrees of bruises over the boy's skinny chest, arms and back, but they hurriedly wrapped him under a thick blanket to get his temperature back to normal. Naruto was grateful beyond words; the blanket was nothing like those paper-thin sheets he had been using during his stay in the orphanage. _

'_So.. warm..' The boy curled into a tight ball and pulled the blanket closer, as if fearing it would run away if he let go. The soft thud of a mug being placed onto the table beside him brought Naruto's attention back to the present, the boy shrinking away a little reflexively at first before daring himself to peer closer._

"_It's hot milk," Ayame said softly in answer to Naruto's growing look of curiosity, inwardly feeling a little taken aback because the boy seemed as though he had never seen anything like that before. Lifting the lime green mug closer to Naruto's lips, she gave him a warm smile, "Drink a little, it'll help warming you up."_

_And he did, though a bit tentatively at first with only a small sip. The beverage tasted really good, and soon Naruto found himself almost greedily gulping down the entire mug of it. Ayame made sure he drank slow enough so as not to burn his lips, or worse, choke himself by accident. Gradually, healthier shades of colors returned to his skin, and the boy's eyes looked much livelier than before. _

_"T-thanks," Naruto did not know of anything else to say._

"_You're welcome," Ayame smiled, before producing a square cloth from her pocket and squatting down to Naruto's eye level. Gently cleaning the persistent dirt away from the boy's roundish cheeks, she proceeded to dry his hair with a clean towel. Thankfully, it would seem the drizzle from earlier had cleaned away whatever dirtiness from his natural spikes of sunshine blond hair. Ayame had to admit, when he was all clean, the boy looked really adorable with his curious blue eyes and ... were those whiskers? __No, probably birthmarks, she decided._

"_I'm Ichiraku Ayame, and he's my dad, Ichiraku Teuchi," she introduced herself and her father who had just left the room for something, before looking at the blond boy before her expectantly. "May I know your name?"_

_"N-Naruto..._ _Uzumaki... Naruto," the whiskered child answered meekly with barely hidden hesitation and nervousness in his small voice, not daring to meet the girl in the face. Ayame's eyes widened slightly as if in realization, but then they seemed to fill up with sympathy. _

_"Naruto, eh? That's a really nice name." _

_Slowly, very slowly, startled cerulean orbs rose to meet gentle brown eyes in disbelief. He had braced himself for every reaction he could think of. Every single one. _

_But__ not this one._

_She had said his name.. not demon, monster, or freak... but his actual name. Naruto. This was not something the blond had expected to hear, not even in his dreams. It felt so unexpected, so.. unreal. And she was not even the slightest bit angry at him like the villagers did! Or..or at least looked at him in disgust. That, and no one aside from the Sandaime had ever complimented him on anything, too, so he was not sure what to make of it._

_"I..I...that.." the Uzumaki's voice came barely above a choked squeak, but the raw, conflicting emotions of shock, confusion, and hopefulness were unmistakable in his eyes. "T-Thank you?"_

_A minute later, Teuchi came into the room, and Naruto almost drooled when an irresistible, mouthwatering aroma wafted through air around them. The older man set the bowl of steaming food down on the small table, before pushing it closer to him. It was a nice mass of stringy wheat noodles served in thick, nice-smelling amber broth with a nice mix of chunky chicken, fishcakes, corn as well as diced green onion toppings, but Naruto could only stare at it in wonderment, having never eaten or even seen anything like this in the orphanage. Leaning nearer to get a better whiff, the boy blushed horribly as his growling stomach urged him to fill himself with it, and he glanced at the man timidly for permission._

"_No need to be shy. Eat up, before it gets cold!"_

_Naruto wanted so badly to stuff himself full right then, but when he picked up the chopsticks lying beside the big bowl, he looked at his hands in embarrassment, seemingly at a loss of what to do. Ayame took notice of this, and she quickly understood the problem he was facing ______—_ Naruto had obviously never used chopsticks before. Gently, she adjusted the wooden utensils in Naruto's right hand, before clasping her own hand over the boy's. A ripple of panic raced down Naruto's skin as he flinched slightly at the direct contact, but he did not say anything.

_"This is how you use them," she said slowly, smiling as she, with gentle grace guided Naruto's smaller fingers to the correct position before clipping up a small piece of meat from the bowl."See? It's really easy."_

_Inwardly, Ayame almost grimaced at the pure, awestruck look on Naruto's face by such a simple show of kindness. Whoever taking care of him obviously had not been doing a good job, that was for sure. She watched as Naruto fumbled a little awkwardly with the eating utensils a little longer, but he was quick to grasp the technique behind it. Soon, the boy was already picking a small clump of the noodles to his lips, and took a tentative bite. _

_Teuchi and his daughter watched Naruto closely, wanting to see the boy's reaction when he first tried it, and they were not disappointed._

"_T-This…" Naruto breathed, slowly looked up at the old ramen chef and his daughter, his eyes all glassy and looking almost like he was about to cry. To be perfectly honest, it had taken almost every ounce of control on his part to keep his tears from spilling right there and then. "This is the bestest thing I've ever had!"_

_The noodles, broth, meat ____— yes, Naruto was shocked when he bit on it. Actual meat! ____—____ and _everything else inside the bowl were so delicious! _They tasted nothing like those bland, mushy slops usually 'reserved' for him as lunch or dinner in the orphanage_, the raw explosions of flavors inside his mouth now making Naruto realize what he was currently eating belonged to a whole different world of food, and not to mention just how hungry he was at the moment. Though, even as he was eating rather quickly, the child made sure to savor each bite as if it were the last thing he would ever be eating, knowing full well that it might just be the case. 

___As he ate, Naruto couldn't help but shoot the Ichirakus nervous glances from time to time, almost half-expecting them to suddenly scold or punish him for some unknown reasons like his caretakers... _former___ caretakers always did. However, to his utmost surprise, the cooks only smiled warmly and told him to enjoy the hot meal. All too soon, the boy placed his chopsticks down with a soft clunk after he ate the last of the noodles, and drained the bowl of any single drop of the broth. The ceramic bowl was as empty as it could be. Not a speck of food was left. Never before had he felt so warm and full in his life, and he had to admit he really like the feeling. If only he could eat this heavenly stuff again in the future.._

_"T-Thank you, Teuchi-occhan, Ayame-neechan," Naruto stood up wobbly on his still aching feet... and bowed with the highest degree of gratitude he could muster, at the same time trying his hardest to prevent his voice from cracking; it was an increasingly difficult task for him at the moment. "I'll pay you b-back for the food, somehow..."_

_"No, no..._ y_ou don't have to worry about it. That one's on the house," Teuchi insisted, slightly taken aback at the boy's overly polite actions. At this, Naruto's head shot up in surprise to look at him properly. _

_"B_-_But________—_" 

_"But nothing. It's really all right," Ayame added supportively, giving a light squeeze on his shoulder for good measure. "You can still ask for seconds if you'd like to. A growing boy like you needs to eat more."_

_The kind, unconditional offer caused what little control Naruto possessed over his emotions to crack. His shoulders began to tremble uncontrollably. It first came as a light quiver on his lips before a small sob escaped from him, and soon another followed, and another until the corners of his blue eyes were welling up with hot tears in front of the father and daughter pair, unable to stop them this time. Quickly remembering how he was taught in the orphanage, the Uzumaki boy tried desperately to pull himself together by keeping the sound in, to keep quiet. He was so sure that his reaction would be perceived as stupid or weird in front of them, and they would laugh at him like everybody else did. _

_Ducking his head down in a poor attempt to hide his face, Naruto waited.._

_And waited..._

_And waited some more..._

_But the jeering laughters never did come. __It was then the boy realized his earlier worries were completely unfounded._

"_H-huh?" Naruto went rigid when he felt a pair of slender arms reaching out and wrapping around his shoulders, pulling him close. He was so accustomed to being mistreated that he was uncertain of how to react to this sudden action... this sudden show of affection. Big blue eyes widening, his breathing became erratic, his vision wavered, and the trembling just would not stop. The seven-year-old frantically willed it to, but it simply persisted as if to mock him. _

_'S-stop.. just.. just stop.. I.. can't.. no one has ever..' When nothing else had worked, Naruto tried squirming his way out from the embrace, but only to have the teenage girl holding him even closer to her. 'W-why? Why? … Why aren't they making fun of me like the rest of them? Why?..Wh..y?' _

_Teuchi watched the boy sadly, noting the utter confusion on his whiskered face and feeling his heart clench at the scene before him. After several long seconds, Naruto relented by sagging limply against her hold, his futile attempts to break away from her forgotten. His mind could no longer register what was going on. Just for a moment, for perhaps the first time of his life, Naruto felt safe in the arms of another person, knowing for sure he would not be hurt in any way._

"_Everything will be okay, Naruto-kun. Just let it out, ne?" Ayame cooed comfortingly, somehow feeling an odd sense of protectiveness towards the boy. She unknowingly blinked away a few tears forming on her own eyes as she felt the boy began shaking more tremulously against her frame this time. "It's all right to cry, you can always be strong later."_

_It was too much. All too much for him to hold in any longer. No more words were needed; with another soul-wrenching sob, Naruto's vision quickly clouded over as hot tears cascaded freely down his cheeks, the boy losing the battle with his emotions and finally... finally burying his face onto her shoulder and crying his eyes out, not caring as he did so. All the bottled up pain, frustration and most of all, sadness burst unbridled through the surface. The recent events were too much for him to face alone._

_'Poor kid...' __Ayame looked at her father, mirroring the latter's sorrowful expression as she hugged the quivering mass closer. It was heart-breaking to hear anyone, let alone a child to cry with so much hurt in his voice. Though, no one could really blame him. Naruto was, after all, a seven-year-old kid who had been through a lot of suffering in his young life._

_On the other hand, this was also the very first time someone else besides the Sandaime had treated him this nicely, so Naruto was at a total loss for words. He was so confused, yet so strangely… happy, unsure if that was the right word to describe the small flicker of warm feeling inside his chest. For a long moment they just remained in that position, the Ichirakus giving Naruto all the time he needed to sort out his jumbled up emotions._

_"It's okay... It's okay now..." _

_Ignoring the growing, damp patch on her right shoulder, Ayame patted the small of Naruto's back in soothing circles, mindful of the bruises as she did so. Her effort to calm the boy down seemed to be working, as Naruto's full-blown crying slowly subsided to low sobs after a few minutes later. _

_"You feeling better?" _

_"M-Mhm.." the blond made a small, muffled noise, but nevertheless managed with a feeble nod into her shoulder. Taking that as an obvious yes, Ayame turned at her father, sharing a meaningful glance with him before she swallowed, looking back at Naruto and asked with a soft tone. _

_ "Do you.. want to talk about what happened?__ Why were you outside this late in the night?_" 

_There was another short silence, broken only by the occasional sobs and hiccups as Naruto visibly tensed up, teeth biting into his lips. The boy kept his gaze on the ground for some time as if hesitant to say anything, before slowly turning his watery blue eyes towards Ayame as she gently released the hug. _

"_.. -cked ..e.. ut…" The response came out barely above a whisper, and the two had to lean closer to make out what the blond was trying to tell them. _

_"..the orphanage caretakers... t-they kicked me out.. no h-home.. anymore.." Naruto's words cracked through the tears, his eyelids squeezing shut and missing the shocked looks of the ramen restaurant owners. The boy tried wiping the stinging tears away, but only to have more taking their place on his face in silent streams. His shaky voice lowered sadly as if each word held a heavy weight on its own. "I.. I didn't do a-anythin' bad to.. to u-upset anyone. I really... really didn't..Honest..."_

_As Naruto slowly opened up and went on telling them how his life had been in the orphanage and how he had ended up in his current state, Teuchi could feel several flares of white hot anger blazing deep inside his old body. Ayame looked like she was almost on the verge of tears now. How could.. how could they treat him like that? The innocent child did not deserve that sort of unjust treatment, despite what he was carrying inside him. Not that they could tell Naruto about it, of course ____________—_ the Sandaime's law made it impossible.

"_Hokage-sama needs to know this," the old ramen chef decided with finality in his voice, and her daughter agreed without any protest. It was only the right thing to do; no child in Konoha should be made to endure this. "That aside, I take it that you don't have any source of income, right?" _

_Naruto sucked in a shaky breath through his teeth, and he nodded, looking somewhat saddened by the question. Raising a small hand to wipe away his tears as he slowly got his breathing back under control, he briefly wondered how he would go on living on the following day, and the day after next without a single ryou on his person. Naruto knew he couldn't just ask and hope to be given free food every time, and not to mention that he no longer had a place to return to; the mere thought of dragging himself through the street almost caused him to tear up again. The blond was simply at a compete loss of what to do. _

_"Naruto, how'd you like working as a helper here, in Ichiraku Ramen?" the old chef inquired kindly after a few seconds. "It would really help to get some extra hands here."_

_A moment went by as Naruto registered the offer inside his mind, and he looked at the man incredulously as if he had grown another head. _

_"Re..really? You'd let me?" The seven-year-old almost choked, his breath hitching in his throat as he perked up at the offer. Despite his young age, Naruto knew how hard money was to come by, but a sudden thought struck him and he looked slightly deflated a second later. Naruto's shoulders visibly slumped, his eyes downcast in shame. "B-but….. Everyone in the orphanage says I'm really clumsy… and stupid… and__________—_"

_"That's nonsense," Ayame clapped a hand on his head and carded through his hair softly, effectively cutting off any more of the negative remarks Naruto was about to tag himself with. Smiling as the boy looked embarrassed at her action, she extended her right hand forward. "We'll be more than willing to teach you. So what do you say?"_

_At long last, a small smile, the very first smile since they had found Naruto, stretched on his lips. Slowly, his small hand reached out and squeezed lightly against the girl's larger one. The feeling of being wanted... it was so, so overpowering. _

"_I.. I'll give it a try. I'll work real hard, I promise!"_

"_Great, you can stay with us for the night. And if you need anything, don't be afraid to let us know, okay?"_

"_T-Thank you... thank you.. so much... for being nice to me..." Naruto let out a breath that came back as a shaky sob, but the thankful expression on his face spoke volumes. A few more tears of gratitude sprang to his eyes and rolled silently down his cheeks to join the rest, but he quickly wiped them away. Naruto watched as the two ambled over to the cupboards in search for some medical salves obviously for his wounds, and he let his smile grow a tad wider. There were people who cared for him besides the Sandaime Hokage._

_It was nice. Very, very much so._

_After their talk with the aged leader in the next day, Naruto was allowed to live in an apartment room with monthly allowance for him. Hiruzen was downright furious beyond belief when the news reached him; he was practically on the warpath when he paid a personal_ _visit to the orphanage that had wronged the boy he considered a second grandson. Naruto even felt somewhat sorry for his former caretakers when he found out that they were fired on the next day._

_The Ichirakus were very kind people, and working with them was something totally new to Naruto, as besides helping out with washing the dishes, they would teach him the proper way to handle the various ingredients and herbs in the kitchen. From time to time, they would also share various culinary knowledge on how to prepare simple meals - something which Naruto found invaluable, because he would never need to worry about starving in his apartment at night as long as he had the right ingredients ready. Despite his moderate pay and that the Ichirakus were pretty strict when it came to cooking discipline, the blond was not complaining. _

_In fact, the time he spent with them was the happiest in his life so far. While the rest the villagers continued to ridicule him, the Ichirakus had never done such a thing. The ramen chef and his daughter had accepted him when nobody else would, when he was left all alone in the dark. They were the closest thing to a loving family the blond could ever ask for, even if he could barely understand the meaning of the word. It was the first time since the Sandaime had acknowledged him that he had felt so happy. It was really, really great to be with them._

"_See? If you chop up the onion this way, you can really bring out its taste in the soup.. As for the meat, make sure it is cooked evenly, like this.. And..." Teuchi or Ayame would teach him patiently whenever they were taking any breaks, and Naruto would nod enthusiastically and soak up the knowledge like a sponge, asking questions when he could not understand any parts of it. Unknowingly to himself, the preteen had been smiling much more often ever since they came into his life ____________— the Ichiraku family had chased a big chunk of the loneliness away and filled a gaping void in his heart, one that could only be filled by genuine kindness_.

_Since Naruto was generally disliked among the local populace, Teuchi never made him face the customers, and the blue-eyed boy was content with helping out in whatever he could in the back kitchen, hidden from the public's view. The blond maelstrom of energy was easily one of the hardest workers he had ever seen, so every now and then, he would reward Naruto with extra large servings of ramen with additional toppings of his choice. In an attempt to thank the man, Naruto would even rack his brain for some surprising new ideas to broaden the restaurant's menu._

_The boy continued working for them for almost two long years, making sure he arrive early every morning so no one could see him going into the stall from the back entrance. _

_The father and daughter could vividly remember how happy Naruto was when he had made his very first bowl of ramen for them. The blond-haired boy was grinning cheekily from ear to ear, looking rather adorable with bits of flour sticking to his whiskered cheeks and shirt. _

_"Look, look, my very own ramen!" The now eight-year-old said excitedly, and grinned, if possible, even wider than before when he saw the look of positive surprise on their faces when they tasted his handiwork. It was nothing short of amazing for a first try, and they could tell Naruto had poured his entire heart into making it. They had even taken a picture to immortalize that moment forever._

_Sadly, like the old saying went, all good things would eventually come to an end ____________—_ the villagers had somehow caught wind that the 'demon brat' was working in the famous ramen restaurant. 

"_It's- It's that filthy thing! What's it doing here?"_

"_We don't want our food to have anything to do with that little monster!" _

_The hurtful insults would continue, and soon customers visiting the stall started to lessen every day. Although the Ichiraku family assured him that they were in no trouble, Naruto knew it was time to leave the job. It was a hard decision, but it would not be right for them to lose their business because of him. And he was about to start his first year in the shinobi academy class in a month's time, too._

_"A ninja whom everyone acknowledges, eh? That path will no doubt be a tough one, but..." Teuchi squatted down to Naruto's eye level, a fatherly smile on his face as he ruffled the blond spikes with affection. "I__f you never give up and keep on believing in your dreams, o_ne day, for sure, you will achieve them. We believe in you, Naruto." 

_It was the boy's last day of service that day, and Ayame had shed tears while hugging his little brother figure closely, stating how much she would miss his presence here in the kitchen. Though, with the biggest grin he could manage despite his heavy heart and teary eyes, Naruto thanked them profusely over and over again for everything, and promised to drop by and grab a bite from time to time. _

_The Ichiraku family would hold a very special place in Uzumaki Naruto's heart. _

_Forever._

* * *

**_Back to present time..._**

Now, watching as Naruto happily eating his third serving of ramen as he chatted animatedly with the Sannin sitting beside him who was muttering something along the line which sounded like W_hat's your stomach made of?_ and _Where did all of it go? _, Teuchi could not help but chuckled at his younger customer.

"Naruto-kun has really grown up, huh?" he heard her daughter whispered behind him. "He looks much happier now."

"Yeah, he does," the old ramen chef answered curtly, the wide smile never leaving his face as he watched Naruto swallowed the last mouthful of his miso ramen, before raising the bowl to his lips and slurping the rest of the rich broth with the simple joy of a child. The blond really had come such a long way from the exhausted and hungry child who stumbled upon their restaurant years ago. "I'm so glad for him. Kid deserves to be happy."

"Now that we're done eating," Jiraiya placed a generous wad of cash which was more than enough to cover for both his and Naruto's food on the desk, as he stood up and stretched, working the kinks out of his shoulders and back. The drizzle had stopped, too, and the once puffy clouds were slowly breaking apart, allowing sunlight to pass unimpeded once again. "It's time for me to hit the hot spring for another round to do my research!"

"Hot spring…?" Putting his empty bowl down, Naruto looked at the Sannin with a befuddled expression, vaguely remembering the ever steaming place during one of his wanders down the street, but had never stepped foot inside before. His cerulean eyes sparkled with interest, wondering if Jiraiya was talking about something cool. "Research?"

"Why, I bet you've never been to a hot spring in your life! Wanna tag along?" Jiraiya asked with a grin which seemed too wide to fit on his face as he pulled Naruto back to his feet and excitedly led him out of the stall before the latter could say anything else. A distant-sounding "_See you, Teuchi-occhan, Ayame-neechan! I'll come visit again soon!_" was heard a few seconds later from the blond.

Not noticing her father's blushing face, Ayame hummed happily as she collected the money, but her eyes widened and froze the moment she realized there was something else under it. It was an oh so_ familiar_, brightly orange-covered book she had seen in the possession of many Konoha males, and they would giggle perversely whenever they were reading it. Though, this one had an overdramatic signature over its cover, and Ayame felt her eyes twitched and widened even further when she took notice on who was the book's author.

"By 'research' in the hot spring, he better not mean pe.." She blurted, feeling the blood drained from her face as her hand flew unconsciously to cover her mouth in sudden realization and growing horror. Come to think of it, she had heard sightings about a big, white-haired man being thrown out of the hot spring for trying something… _questionable_ earlier that morning. "If.. if I ever find out my innocent little brother being _corrupted_ by that man, I'll.. _I'll_…."

Teuchi turned, a bit fearfully as he took in his daughter's rare fuming expression as she swiftly chopped the said book a little too forcefully on the wooden board and reducing it to tiny little pieces with expert knifework as if it was some cursed object. The former chuckled nervously as he fingered his own copy of the book hidden deep inside his cooking robe to make sure it was secured from such cruel fate. Ayame did not need to know that, of course.

_'B-Best of luck on your next book, Jiraiya-sama.' _He shuddered._ 'I doubt even Tsunade-sama's medical expertise would be able to put you back together if Ayame ever gets her hands on you..'_

Some distances away, the very same white-haired, toad summoning Sannin felt a distinctive chill in the air running down his spine as well as a sudden urge to run for his life, but merely waved it away as overreaction as he continued ushering his curious blond charge forward.

* * *

**_~End Chapter 5~_**

_Haha! My longest chapter yet! So how was this one?_

_Yep, the gallant Jiraiya-sama has finally made his debut in this story! Any yes, He will play a very important role in the future chapters. The purpose of the flashback was to give Naruto a little more background story before we slowly proceed to the main plot. I know it's a bit sad (Hate to admit it, even I was crying as I wrote the scene) and leaves behind a bittersweet feeling, but I gotta give it realistic touch, you know?_

_Glossary (in alphabetical order):_

_Densetsu no Sannin – Legendary Three Ninja_

_fūinjutsu – the art of sealing_

_Gama-Sennin - toad hermit_

_Kekkei genkai – bloodline limit_

_doujutsu – eye technique_

_Mokuton - Wood Release_

_Myobokuzan – Mount Myoboku, the secret place where the toad summons are residing._

_ninken – ninja dog_

_I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for all your kind reviews by the way, and I hope to see more of them soon xD_

_Oh, since my school's starting, the future updates will be a little slower than usual, so please bear with me. Thanks._

_BlackSpike91 out~_


	6. Author Notes

Author's Note:

Dear readers of this fic,

First of all, I am really, really sorry (T_T) for not updating this fanfic for quite a while. It was all because my almost-completed chapter 6 and 7 was somehow corrupted due to a computer virus some time ago *cries*, so I kinda lost my inspiration to write. But don't worry, I'm NOT planning on abandoning this fic.

I am currently redoing the new chapter 6, and it should be up in a week or two (or more since I have a sudden school project to busy with). Please kindly bear with me for the time being and thank you for your patience.

Thank you all.

-Author Notes Updated (3/3/2013)


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